The Tale of Sareh
by Rubi Dharuddha
Summary: Before Galbatorix’s lust for power became apparent, before the war, before Eragon. There was love, between a dragon rider, and a woman who would become a pawn in the evil brewing in Alagaësía. Young BromOC InProgress Work R&R Please!
1. Chapter One

A/N: I've read both Inheritance novels and have seen the first installment of the film. Brom didn't delve into his past that much before he died, other than what he said of his own dragon, also named Saphira. Though my story may be a bit fantastical as it progresses, who's to say he never fell in love? (The Brom I'm molding in this story is a bit more like Jeremy Irons' portrayal I seem to prefer that version.)

All I can say is: if you please, no flames. I'm perfectly aware of Paolini's work I love it. I like to write, I had an idea furious typing ensued. Please DO enjoy! I own nothing of the Inheritance series, the only one that's mine is Sareh (Sah-ray) and anything that doesn't appear familiar.

Thanks!

**The Tale of Sareh**

He had been watching her all morning, like a hunter after his prey. Her light-colored eyes swept over the terrain ahead of her, her features delicate. Brom hadn't any idea there was such beauty in the world. Aside of course from his dragon Saphira, This creature before him however had quite caught his eye and he followed what he thought was an appropriate distance away from her.

"_Careful Brom. Sometimes they bite."_ Brom smiled a crooked smile at his dragon's warning. It was amazing that even miles away, tracking a deer, Saphira could still tell when he was doing some tracking of his own.

"_Couldn't be any worse than **your** bite."_ Saphira chuckled. It was a slightly unpleasant feeling, since it felt as though she were laughing straight into his ear. What was even more unsettling at times was he was the only one who could hear it. He felt her attention wander as he looked for his quarry. The moment of distraction from Saphira had provided the target with an opportune moment to escape. Brom looked around, eyes searching for her once more. It had become quite the task, but for some reason Brom didn't mind. He made his way around the brush that was growing quite inconveniently in his path. He leaned over for a moment as a bramble tore at his boot, effectively pulling one undone. As he stooped to fix the offending strap, a shadow fell across his path and two; bare, elfin feet came into his line of vision. Brom froze, his eyes traveling up, passing a shin-length blue dress, to a worn leather corset, reaching muslin encased arms crossed over chest, up to a face that was showing the signs of an irked person.

"Is there a reason you're following me or are you lost?" Brom was speechless for a moment as the fire in the young woman's eyes caught him; he fairly lost all coherent thought. She brought him back with a slight tilt of her head, Brom knew that his silence made him seem the fool and he struggled to find the words to say.

"I… I saw you at the market earlier—I wanted to…" He wasn't helping himself in the slightest. The young woman tapped her foot impatiently as Brom struggled to find the velvet words of wooing he had been tossing around in his head earlier. At the time he was positive, that every word he spoke would cause immediate eyelash batting and deep blushing. Brom sighed and decided that if the embarrassment he was feeling at this very moment didn't kill him that he would find the nearest pond and do it himself.

"I saw you and I knew I wanted to meet you." The woman looked at him, the earlier aggressiveness became muted and although she was still wary, she appeared less disturbed by his presence.

"You wanted to meet me? Why?" Brom took a deep breath, searching for an acceptable answer. At this point, anything he said would either guide him into the good graces of this woman, or it would earn him a well-aimed slap across the face. Seeing as he was doing **_such a wonderful job_** at making first impressions, Brom felt he could do little more harm to his cause.

"Well, milady, because I was intrigued by you. By the way you choose your vegetables at market, by the way you smile at people you pass on your way, by the way you confronted me, a man who's at least a foot taller and carries a sword. I found myself wanting to know who you were, to understand my intrigue." The woman looked away for a second and then met his gaze.

"I've never been told I intrigue someone before." Brom gave her a suddenly shy smile.

"Well, it's long overdue milady." The woman gave him a slightly perplexed look.

"Why do you call me milady, when it's obvious I have no wealth or title?" Brom's eyebrows gathered on his forehead as he gave that thought.

"It's simply a habit, I've been trained to treat any and all that are not my enemies with respect, no matter who they are." At that, the probing look of before had returned, only this was to discover what he was trained as, exactly. After a moment, the young woman put out her hand.

"My name is Sareh." Brom took her hand gently into his own and placed a light kiss upon her knuckles. Call it old fashioned, but Brom got the reaction he had hoped his clever words would. Her cream-colored cheeks became stained with a light shade of pink.

"My name is Brom, I would like to repair any poor impressions you may have of me, after my unfortunate stumble. I'm not one for words." Sareh smiled, never uttering concern that Brom had captured her hand and didn't appear to want to let go.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Fancy words are lost on the likes of me." Brom looked at the woman in front of him.

"I don't believe anything could be lost on you."

"I should tell you flattery is lost on me as well." Brom laughed softly and released her hand hesitantly.

"May I walk with you?" He asked as Sareh bent down to retrieve her basket of market finds. She looked to him and then nodded.

"You may." Brom became ever the gentleman and offered to take her heavy basket, walking beside her as she headed for home. Sareh was silent for a moment as they passed through town, Sareh taking the familiar trail home. She looked slyly at Brom and then blurted:

"So the way I pick my vegetables is intriguing." Brom grimaced as his words came back to bite. He smiled sheepishly at Sareh,

"What can I say, it's unmatched in all of Alagaësía." Sareh laughed, the sound washing over Brom, giving him that indescribable feeling he had had before, when he had first seen her. Her very presence made him feel it twofold. As she flew over The Spine, Brom's Saphira gave a dragon smile. Her rider's safety was not her only concern, but his happiness as well. As his joy became her own, Saphira knew that something good had happened.

If you had seen them that day, side by side, laughing as though nothing in the world was souring into a terrible wrath, you would be hard pressed to find a flaw. Brom and Sareh became exactly what the other was searching for. Anyone could tell as they walked the dirt paths of Carvahall, a place that would endure the beginning of the end.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Sareh and Brom picked their way through the paths of Carvahall, laughing and talking. Brom had never found anyone, outside of Saphira, that he felt completely at ease with. Her easy-going manner (once she had relaxed in his presence) and her ability to find humor in everything were refreshing. They had been swapping stories on the long trek to her home, and even so, Brom had yet to tell her that he was a dragon rider. Normally, people knew instantly, usually because a large mouth, filled with just as over-sized teeth was with him. That particular illustration of his occupation was currently missing. Although riders were revered for keeping the peace, Brom hadn't met a single person who's demeanor didn't change the minute they knew. Many became simpering and annoying, hoping to make their way into the good graces of the ever-powerful dragon riders. Many riders found this flattering and enjoyed the attention. Brom on the other hand, found himself imagining what would happen if Saphira "accidentally" ate them. As he was thinking this, he vaguely heard the tail end of Sareh's sentence.

"…And, I never realized what a great friend I had until he and his family left Carvahall. Have you ever had that feeling? Have someone that you love and if you lost them it would feel like you would change?" Brom didn't realize until he started speaking that his mouth didn't seem to be in tune with his mind, the words that were passing his lips, most definitely hadn't been approved by him.

"I feel like that from time to time, when my dragon leaves for longer than a day." He didn't notice until the silence was obvious, that Sareh was no longer with him. He backtracked to where she stood, head tilted, staring at him.

"You're a Shur'tugal?" she asked, using the Ancient word for dragon rider. Brom nodded, awaiting harsh words for not sharing this information earlier. They never came. Instead Sareh shrugged and walked on, leaving Brom where he stood. To be honest, he was a bit taken aback.

Surely that wasn't all she was going to do, was she angry he hadn't said something, did she think he was joking? What was going through her head?

Brom tightened his grip on the market basket he was carrying and quickened his pace to catch up.

"I haven't offended you have I?" mentally kicking himself, Brom looked at Sareh concerned for her reaction. Sareh didn't say anything for a moment, taking a great interest in the trees they were passing. Brom turned to face her, walking backwards,

"Sareh?" She stopped and looked to Brom.

"No, I just thought we were talking." Brom looked at her puzzled.

"Really?" Sareh nodded, smiling.

"Did you _want_ me to start complimenting you after finding out you were Shur'tugal?" Brom looked at her horrified.

"Absolutely not! I just… I didn't exactly introduce it that well." Sareh gave a slight pffting noise.

"We've known each other for all of an hour, unless you come from a village where strangers share everything all at once, it's not my place to be outraged you didn't tell me right away." Brom shook his head in wonderment. A rare find she was, not caring in the slightest that he flew astride a dragon, keeping the peace between all in Alagaësía, it was lovely.

"I've never met anyone quite like you." He said shifting the basket that was slowly cutting the circulation to his fingers off. Sareh flashed him a smile.

"I should hope not. Everyone is unique in their own way, how dull would it be if we were all the same?" Brom agreed,

"Have you ever met a dragon rider?"

"Outside of you? Never." Brom was impressed, the number of dragon riders was high these days, even with the quota of eggs the dragons gave for hatching. Living anywhere without meeting one for so long, was strange for Brom.

"That's odd, for me anyway." Sareh shrugged once more.

"My family depends on our own land. What we can't grow we get from the market. Our needs are little so travel isn't necessary."

"Oh." After telling himself he hated the celebrity, Brom found he was slightly sore that dragon riders weren't that important to her. It might have been he was subconsciously hoping she was attracted to men such as he. He killed the feeling and the two continued on. Sareh sensed he felt badly and laid her hand on his arm.

"It isn't as though we've never heard of dragon riders Brom, my brothers adore the thought of being a riders, flying on the back of a dragon, staving off war and protecting a fragile peace. They still hold a hope that they might one day become a riders, even though the chance of peasants ever being called to be given an egg is slimmer than most." Brom smiled at her attempt to make him feel better.

"You seem to be talented in everything, vegetable picking, conversationalist and now counselor… Is there anything you _can't_ do?" Sareh drew his attention to a small hovel at the top of the hill they were on and as they reached the door Sareh turned to face him, opening the door without looking.

"I can't swim." With that Brom was ushered into a cozy little house filled with mouth-watering scents you could positively swim through. Sareh took the basket from Brom and headed for a scarred wooden table at the center of the room. Brom rubbed his hand, encouraging the blood to flow its course once again. Sareh set the basket down and called for her mother.

"Mama? I'm home!" Brom moved his attention away from his hand in time to see a short, plump woman with dark hair that was just beginning to gray. She came into the room wiping her hands on a piece of cloth.

"You were able to find everything, good. Your father will be pleased to see carrots in his stew today." The woman began rummaging around in the basket, oblivious to the guest standing in the doorway. Sareh looked at Brom and rolled her eyes, she laid a hand on her mother's shoulder and then whispered into her ear. The shorter woman looked up from the basket and straight to Brom.

"Oh! Sakes alive! I didn't know you were there lad, come in, come in." Her eyes flicked back to Sareh, her hand fluttering with sudden anxiety.

"Would it have killed you to tell me? I'm not dressed for a guest and our afternoon meal is just a stew." Sareh crossed her arms.

"It wasn't a planned meeting mama… Now, mama this is Brom, Brom is this is my mother Caitir." Brom took a fluttering hand in one of his, placing a kiss upon the knuckles. This time just to be polite, not to woo, as he had been with this woman's daughter earlier.

"Madame, it is I who is inconveniencing you and your family. I have no complaints about dress or stew. In fact, stew sounds much more delectable than anything I, as a bachelor could cook." The woman gave a slight blush and then gave Sareh a look, wiggling her eyebrows in a manner that suggested Brom was quite the catch.

"Well, if you truly don't mind, your welcome to stay—What did you say his name was?" She asked Sareh who smiled at her mother's forgetfulness.

"Brom mama. His name is Brom." The woman smiled and lightly slapped her forehead.

"Ah yes, Brom. My thoughts wander away sometimes, it's a wonder I remember my own children's names." As the three laughed at her self-deprecation Sareh's mother patted her on the shoulder and pulled the necessary vegetables from the basket.

"I just need to add this to the pot, would you go get your father and the children in?" Sareh nodded and turned to Brom as her mother walked away.

"Join me?" She asked. Brom smiled, at that moment, his stomach growled and the two burst into laughter.

"I suppose it's a good thing mama's making afternoon meal." Brom shrugged as they stepped out into the bright sun.

"I wasn't joking when I said my meals as a bachelor are sparse. My cooking skills, I'm sad to report consist of beans and the occasional rabbit." Sareh shook her head and led him into the land behind the house. From where they were Brom could see the shapes of four other people. As they drew closer he could see two of them were young boys, one a young girl and a man older than all three. Brom could only assume that it was Sareh's father. His thoughts were confirmed when they reached the plots of land that had been ploughed and were now being painstakingly sown and Sareh made her way to the man.

"Papa how goes the planting?" The older man straightened and brushed a dirt-covered hand over a sweaty brow. He effectively created mud as he greeted his daughter.

"It goes child. I will be glad when this part of the task is finished." Sareh reached him and affectionately wiped the dirt from his face. As she did so Brom saw a girl shaped projectile speed towards Sareh's legs. A small girl child grabbed Sareh.

"Saree, Saree! I missed you while you were away." Sareh gave a light laugh and ruffled the girl's hair.

"I missed you too." She gestured for Brom to come forward.

"Papa, Amani, and you two." The two young men left their seed rows and joined the small party.

"This is Brom, I met him at the market this morning and Mama has kindly invited him to join us for afternoon meal. Brom this is my father Kamran, the twins Radwan and Darius and my little sister Amani." Brom nodded his head in greeting when all of a sudden Amani came over and looked up at him.

"You're very tall," she said in a matter of fact way, "are you sure you're not a tree?" Brom laughed at the little girl's outburst. Sareh shook her head and came near, patting her little sister on the head.

"No Amani, he isn't a tree… He _is_ a Shur'tugal." The twins looked at Brom with great interest. Before they could ask any questions the group heard a whistle from the back of the house. Looking back they could see their petite mother waving her arms.

"Mama nearly had afternoon meal finished when we came out here. I suppose it's finished now." Sareh's father nodded and clapped Brom none too gently on the back.

"Hope you're hungry lad," Out of the corner of his eye, Brom could see Sareh hide a smile, "my wife makes a good stew and there's always enough to feed several armies." The group headed towards the house, little Amani skipping ahead of them. As he walked with them, Brom felt something he hadn't before. A sense of belonging, this family, who owed him nothing, treated him as if he had always been there. That was something that was increasingly difficult to come by as one traveled through life, in his line of work you were either hated or respected, but never loved.

He felt the love Sareh's family exuded.

In the end, the family included him in a meal that kings would be jealous of. The laughter and joking, the light poking fun and all around good cheer made the day a good one. It also gave him a chance to observe Sareh, with her family and in her own territory. She was naturally kind, affectionate to her younger sister and fair to her brothers. He also was able to take in the sight of her, dark hair braided down her back, pale skin and hazel eyes that took in all the sights around her. To Brom, she was as beautiful to him as a diamond was to a jeweler.

Brom stayed for the rest of the day, helping Sareh's father chop wood while she and her siblings finished planting the seed. By then Sareh's mother was so taken with him she made him stay for dinner and then later offered him a place to sleep. Such kindness Brom had never been privy to.

As he lay awake, he felt Saphira land in the woods just outside of the family's land. As she settled she spoke to him.

"_I see you were able to convince her you're a gentleman."_ Brom laughed internally.

"_All evidence to the contrary, right?"_ Saphira's dragon chuckle sounded in his ear and Brom found himself not noticing its loudness.

"_So when am I to meet this Sareh?"_ Brom hadn't thought about that. It hit him then that he had two females in his life. One of which had been there since the moment she had hatched, the other becoming more than a passing fancy.

"_Tomorrow Saphira. Tomorrow you two will meet and I will teach her how to swim."_

Could the two live in harmony with one another? They would see.

* * *

A/N: Such a loooong chapter! I'm sorry! I felt a need to keep their conversation about being a dragon rider and the meal together. Thanks for keeping on reading! 


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

A/N: I will never understand why I can't get these chapters written before 2 in the morning, but here they are nonetheless. The next two chapters is where the story gets interesting though so please, continue reading and I hope you're interest doesn't turn into flaming rage. :0D

Brom woke to a pleasant smell, the sun shining in through the windows across his blanketed legs. His nose detected porridge, quite the delicacy for a dragon rider that could only carry the bare essentials while traveling. A hint of cinnamon had him out of bed and preparing for the day. He made his way into the offset kitchen, where Sareh's mother was bent over the hearth, stirring the beginnings of breakfast. She saw Brom come round the corner and smiled.

"Good morning lad. Sleep well?" Brom smiled back and nodded.

"Very well, thank you for allowing me to stay in your home." Caitir waved his thanks away.

"Sareh has a way of—knowing when someone has good within them. I would trust her instincts anytime." Brom lifted his shoulders in thanks anyway.

"I appreciate your kindness nonetheless. Is there anything I can do to help?" Caitir looked up from her stirring and then around, she took note that the woodpile had shrunk.

"Well, if any of you would like toast, I suppose I'll need to keep the fire going. If you would be a dear—" Brom raised his hands in understanding.

"Say no more my dear lady, I shall fetch more wood." Caitir laughed at his "chivalrous" tone.

"Thank you my dear." As he turned to go, Brom hesitated, thinking of what he wanted to say. Then he turned back to Sareh's mother, the woman was already watching him from her post at the hearth. She smiled at Brom and nodded.

"I'll save you the trouble of asking. You may take Sareh out for the day, her father and I will manage. Just be warned, that if anything was to happen to Sareh—her father will hunt you down and make it so no little Brom's will see the beauty of Alagaësía." Brom took this warning to heart.

"I assure you, my intentions have never been purer." Caitir chuckled and shooed him towards the door.

"One can only hope, now, wood please, the rest of the family will be down soon and if their breakfast isn't finished I'll have no choice but to tell them it was your fault. Hunger will leave them unable to hold back." Brom left the house smiling and took a moment to inhale the sweet country air. If he hadn't become a dragon rider, Brom could see himself living off the land and breathing the sweet, clean air on a daily basis. He turned to head to the woodpile he had helped chop and stack yesterday, nearly tripping over a form just outside of the door.

It was Sareh. She was sitting cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by sewing things, and on her lap was a board with a small stuffed rabbit that Sareh was jabbing at with a strange needle. She was startled as Brom sidestepped her.

"Brom! You startled me." Brom crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her with stern eyes.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you never to sit where people could trip over you?" Sareh smiled up at him.

"Actually it was my mother who sent me out here. Apparently I'm useless when it comes to cooking." Brom gave a snort and then focused his attention on the rabbit that was being jabbed mercilessly with a vicious looking needle.

"May I ask what the rabbit did to warrant such abuse?" Sareh looked puzzled for a moment until it dawned on her what he was saying.

"Oh, this is for Amani. My father tells stories to her when she has trouble sleeping, and her favorite is about Manoush the rabbit. His garden will not grow carrots so he must hop from land to land looking for some to bring back home; he is turned away by all manner of creature until he meets a dragon that carries him to a land that grows nothing but the most delicious carrots of all." Brom hadn't realized until Saphira spoke to him that she had been listening to their conversation.

"_Any dragon in their right mind would have eaten this Manoush and forgotten about a land filled with disgusting vegetables."_

Brom closed his eyes and explained to Saphira that one; it was rude to listen in on another's conversation and two that it was a child's bedtime story so the likeliness of it being realistic was slim.

"_What I'll never understand about you humans," _Saphira countered, _"is why you lie to your children."_ Brom shook his head and looked back to Sareh who was now jabbing at the rabbit's paw, her needle going through it and into the board protecting her lap. He squatted next to her and watched her.

"What exactly are you doing?" Sareh continued down the arm of the rabbit while answering.

"I'm using a needle with special barbs on it to make the wool I'm using soft. Right now it's very scratchy and not comfortable on the skin. I don't want it to make Amani itch when it should help put her to sleep."

"Ah." Brom replied, standing and stretching, preparing to go to the woodpile, knowing Sareh's mother was waiting for wood. As he moved to go the needle slipped through the wool of the rabbit and straight into Sareh's finger. She yelped and shook the hurt finger as if throwing the pain off. Brom immediately knelt beside her once more. He took her hand gently and rubbed the stung digit until the discomfort on Sareh's face melted away.

"Better?" Brom asked as he finished ministering his aid.

"Much—thank you." Sareh replied, enjoying the feeling of Brom's touch but keeping that fact to herself. She expected Brom to let go once he had helped make her feel better, but was more than stunned as he pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. He watched her as he did so, seeing her surprise, as he let go he stood and said softly.

"Aim for the board next time." By then Sareh was in such a state of shock she didn't really hear him.

Had that really just happened?

She watched him as he passed by with an armload of wood for her mother. He caught her gaze as he made his way into the house and smiled as she looked away with a blush on her face. He had wanted to be sure that she felt somewhat the same as he did before he made an even bigger fool out of himself. Now that he had proof that she did, Brom was confident enough to continue pursuing her.

Sareh finished the stuffed rabbit and headed inside where the family was gathering for breakfast. Her mother was pulling the last of the toast off of the toasting iron over the fire and Amani was setting bowls out on the old table their father had made before any of them were born. Brom was sitting at the table, her twin brothers Radwan and Darius pelting him with questions they had been prevented from asking the night before.

"What's it like being a rider?"

"Does the dragon really choose you?"

"What duties do you have?"

"Do you meet a lot of women?" A swift smack across the back of the head from their mother told the twins to mind their manners. Brom, a bit overwhelmed with questions, attempted to answer them as satisfactorily as possible.

"Being a rider is incredible. You get to go places many can't, and flying of course, is a thrill all its own. Yes the dragon does choose it's rider, it can wait forever if it doesn't sense a rider it wants, thank you," he said to Caitir as she set a mug of water next to his bowl.

"My dragon and I are currently on leave for a few days, we've been patrolling along The Spine for anything out of the ordinary." Kamran looked at Brom from over the top of his mug that he had jus raised to his lips. He lowered it,

"Out of the ordinary?" Brom nodded,

" Signs of raised armies, unusual uses of magic, beasts that may seem abnormal." The family watched him the only ones who didn't seem worried were the twins. The looks on their faces were that of jealousy and desire. Both wished to be riders and knew the painful truth that it wouldn't happen. Brom realized he had inadvertently caused them to worry. Yes, there was some unrest within the dragon riders and the council but it didn't appear to be peace threatening.

"I didn't intend to make you worry friends, it's a normal duty, many riders do it during their service." The family wasn't very assured, in Carvahall they were very near to The Spine, if something was coming out of it that shouldn't be they wanted to know. However, it didn't prevent the continuation of breakfast. Everyone dug into porridge with toast that had some of the most delicious jam Brom had ever tasted. If there was one thing he was going to miss when he and Saphira began their patrol again it would be good food. He looked at Sareh from across the table; she had given Manoush the rabbit to Amani who was now trying to feed it a piece of her toast.

Well, not just food.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

When breakfast was finished and the table cleared away, Brom asked Sareh if she would come with him, he had a surprise for her. Sareh agreed and the two walked out into meadows that surrounded Sareh's home. She tried to squeeze the surprise out of Brom, guessing and attempting to get him to slip what it was, but he was too good for that. She was still clueless when they reached their destination.

It was the lake Saphira had been staying near when she made her way to Brom's location. She was nowhere to be seen, Brom called out to her and heard her reply, a distant one at best.

_"Just a moment, I'm hunting Manoush the rabbit."_ Brom once again rolled his eyes inwardly. Sometimes Saphira's humor was irksome.

Well, no time like the present. If Saphira was hunting, he had a few moments to teach Sareh an important skill. He faced Sareh who met his gaze.

"So what is this surprise you told me about?" she asked, she hadn't really expected anything since she and Brom hadn't known each other but a day and a half. Brom however gave her a grin and then gestured to the lake.

"Surprise." Sareh looked out across the lake. She didn't say anything for a moment and then spoke softly,

"Brom, that's the lake."

"Yes it is."

"The lake I've seen almost everyday of my life."

"Really. Now that's interesting." Sareh shot Brom a look.

"Is there a _reason_ you're patronizing me master illusive?" Brom laughed and moved towards her, forcing her to step backwards or risk being trod on.

"Perhaps." A few steps more. Sareh shook her head.

"Well, I have to say, I don't think you've quite grasped the concept of a surprise." Brom moved closer, a few steps more.

"I haven't, well, please, _enlighten _me." Sareh put a finger to her lips, a look of silliness on her face.

"Well, I think your first mistake was using the lake as a surprise because unfortunately I've seen it. Nothing surprising about it." Brom raised an eyebrow.

"Really, well, would you be surprised in knowing you're standing in it?" Sareh looked down and saw that he was right. She was nearly knee deep in water and hadn't noticed the chill until he had said something. This sort of thing wouldn't have frightened most people.

Sareh was not most people.

"No!" she yelled and scrambled out of the lake and onto land, water dripping from her skirt and legs. Brom was taken aback by this reaction.

"You're afraid of the water?" Sareh wrapped her arms around her body lips pressed tightly together. She nodded and looked away from Brom. He came to her, she backed away unsure of what he was going to do next.

"I didn't mean to frighten you Sareh… I didn't know you were afraid. I just wanted to teach you to swim." Sareh looked at him, eyes wide.

"Well, then I'm afraid you're going to be short a student, because I am not going in there." Brom drew closer and put a hand on her shoulder only to find she was trembling.

"Sareh, what happened at this lake? What frightens you?" Sareh sat on the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. Brom joined her, awaiting an answer. She looked at Brom,

"You swear you won't think me stupid." Brom knew that wasn't possible no matter what she said and agreed whole-heartedly.

"Someone's fear is not something to mock." Finally after a few eternities of silence Sareh looked at him and began her tale.

"When I was little, all I wanted to learn to do was swim." She stopped for a moment, at Brom's look to continue she began again.

"My father had promised to teach me, but he was busy with the fields. I was he and Mama's only child at the time. I tried to help but at that age—well, you've seen Amani, one has the attention span of a flea." Brom watched her intently; he could see this was painful for her.

"One day, I grew tired of waiting for my father to keep his promise and when he and Mama were busy in the fields, I took matters into my own hands." She breathed for a moment, tightening her grip on her legs.

"I came to the lake, by myself and began to swim, or at least I thought I was. I was doing fairly well until I realized how far out I had come, nearly the middle of the lake. I panicked, and I started to drown. If my father hadn't heard my screams from the fields. I would have died." She brushed a wisp of hair away from her face and met Brom's blue eyes with her hazel ones.

"I slipped under the water, before my father had reached me. And, while I was sinking I remember hearing someone, I don't know who or what, telling me to hold on, that someone was coming, but I was alone in that cold, silent water. By the time my father got me out everything was black." Brom saw her eyes were wet with tears she brushed at them angrily with her hand.

"After that I swore I would never try such a thing again. I would take the animals to water, I would get water for my family, I would even help my mother with the wash, but I would never again step foot into that lake. I intend to keep it that way." Brom was quiet for a moment and then stood.

"I'm truly sorry about what happened all those years ago… But, best not waste time." Brom removed his sword belt, leather coat, and rolled his shirtsleeves to his elbows. Sareh looked at him mystified by his actions.

"_What_ are you _doing_?" Brom thought for a moment and suddenly remembered something.

"Oop, better take my boots off, leather is rather uncomfortable when wet." Now Sareh was on the same page.

"You're going for a swim then?" Brom shook his head in the negative

"No, _we're_ going for a swim." At this Sareh jumped up, ready to burst.

" We're you not listening? I will not go in that lake again, I just won't." Brom walked to the edge of the lake and stuck a now bare toe into the water.

"Hullo, **that's** chilly." Sareh put her hands on her hips.

"Maybe it will wake your obviously deaf ears!" Brom looked back as he walked forward into the cool water.

"Humph, my ears work just fine. I understand what happened was frightening but it's in the past, you should move on and learn to swim." Sareh's brow furrowed and she shook her head.

"_No._" Brom stopped and gave her a look.

"Oh come now, what if you one day find yourself at a river that you must swim across but you don't know how? What will you do then?" Sareh rubbed her forehead.

"If ever a time I found myself in such a predicament I would find the nearest boatman and have him carry me across." Brom shook his head in return.

"And if the boat capsizes?"

"This is pointless." Sareh growled. Brom found himself far enough out to float on his back; he raised his head to look at her.

"I know what you'll do, you'll think, now why didn't I let that handsome Brom teach me to backstroke?" Sareh found herself laughing at his words despite herself. She wanted to stay mad at him but was finding it increasingly difficult as he did water acrobatics for her benefit.

"The water is calm Sareh, and I promise you, I won't let anything happen to you." Sareh looked at him from her safe distance. He had found solid sand to stand upon and now had his arms outstretched, ready for her. After a moment of internal struggle, Sareh took small steps into the water, at first afraid to leave the safety of the shore and then moving completely into the safe circle of Brom's arms. Slowly he helped her, instructing her on how to kick her legs and how to use her arms to keep her afloat. Before she knew it, she had become a natural.

"You see milady, all you needed was a little push." Sareh smiled as the two tread water, facing one another. She had shown great courage to overcome her fear of this lake in such a short time, and he had never found her more beautiful in the last two days than right now, wet hair fanning around her shoulders, lips slightly tinged blue from the cold. All of a sudden Sareh had thrown her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his mouth. It was over before Brom had a chance to react.

"What was that for?" He asked, slightly breathless (yes, _breathless_) at her bold move. She shrugged, the ripples circling her.

"I wanted to." She turned to swim back to shore but was suddenly pulled back by Brom.

"Oh no you don't." He said just before pulling her mouth to his and sharing the most passionate kiss either had ever experienced. Brom at that moment wouldn't have minded kissing her all day, but a shadow came over the lake and the thud of four large, clawed feet hitting the ground broke them apart.

"_I do hope I'm not interrupting anything."_ Saphira said to Brom as she folded her wings behind her. Brom had never felt Saphira's timing had been worse, than at _that exact moment_. A look from her told him that her timing had been intentional, whether because she was jealous or she was making sure Brom wasn't doing anything stupid he wasn't quite sure yet. He looked back to Sareh and noted that she had a strange look on her face.

"Sareh?" at his voice Sareh shook her head as if to clear it and the two swam back to shore, suddenly realizing that their wet clothes made leaving the somewhat frosty water an even chillier event. Brom took Sareh's hand and they walked closer.

"Sareh, I'd like you to meet—"

"Saphira."

Saphira looked at Brom with a dragon's version of confusion, Brom mirrored it and looked at Sareh, who had the same strange look on her face as before.

"_Brom, how does she know my name, did you tell her about me?"_

"_No, I—"_ Brom stopped his thought short when he saw Sareh's face change from being perplexed, to outright frightened. Sareh backed away from them both, hands clutching at her wet skirt. Brom followed,

"Sareh, what is it? What's wrong?" Sareh looked at him in fear and confusion.

"Brom, that voice… That's the voice I heard when I was drowning."


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

A/N: Special thanks to Benry Gale, so far you're my only reviewer and I appreciate it. I'm glad you seem to enjoy my work, thank you.

Because I haven't been able to find any exact dates or years (as of yet) that specify how old Brom was when he was given an egg (and everything suggests riders are given eggs when they're children) I have taken the liberty of guessing. I'm probably not _even close._ All I know is Saphira died young and Brom grew old alone. So here we go into the depths of the FF abyss. My idea comes to life and the flames begin!

Brom stood there, dumbfounded. Could she _hear_ Saphira? He met Saphira's gaze. She shook her head.

"_I don't understand it anymore than you."_ Brom heard the rustle of grass and turned in time to see Sareh running back through the meadow.

"SAREH!" Brom yelled rushing after her, Saphira took flight, easily overtaking the young woman and landing in front of her.

"_If you truly **can** hear me, then we must understand why since you clearly aren't a dragon rider." _Sareh looked at the dragon, face white.

"Oh, clearly." Brom had caught up by then.

"Sareh, I know you must be scared. Hearing a dragon for the first time is a strange and almost overwhelming experience."

"_And it isn't unheard of for someone who is not a rider to be able to hear a dragon_." Sareh looked to Brom who gave a slight nod.

"It's rare—"

"_And, considered rude."_ Sareh looked at Saphira, nearly choking on her rage.

"You think I _want_ to hear you? I don't know the first thing about dragons and I'm starting to think I don't **want** to know about them _anyway_." The dragon and the woman stared each other down. Unblinking for a few moments until Brom became frustrated with both of them.

"Saphira, Sareh… This needs to stop. Now this is quite the mystery, we need to figure out what's happening." The feelings both had for Brom, whether through the bond of being dragon and rider, or simply falling in love made them see their argument was a silly one. They broke eye contact and muttered somewhat weak apologies. Finally Brom walked to Sareh, he put his hands to her face, making them look toward one another.

"Can you think of anything, or any time this has happened before?" Sareh thought for a moment, the warmth of Brom's hands on her face fought away the cold she was feeling. She thought back through the years and it suddenly hit her, all the times she had thought she had heard a voice and waved it off as her imagination and all the times she had seen things that inexplicably came true later. They were all connected. The look on her face must have given Brom a clue because his own countenance became questioning.

"There _has_ been something, hasn't there?" he asked. Sareh wasn't sure, but nodded hesitantly with face captured between two sword calloused hands.

"I thought I was just making things up, that my imagination got the best of me." Brom stroked ridge of her cheeks with his thumbs, brushing away a few stray tears.

"What sorts of things?" Sareh sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

"I heard voices, I thought someone had spoken to me, but when I answered there was no one in the room, or no one had said anything. I saw flashes of things in my mind. I remember I saw Amani, in a dream, she had gotten lost in the forest. The next day, she disappeared and it took us the whole day to find her. I thought it was just coincidence." Saphira looked at Brom,

"_I've heard of people learning how to communicate with dragons, but never having the ability to see the future. Maybe she's wrong." _ Sareh looked at the dragon, her look angry.

"I _can_ still hear you." Saphira gave a sheepish look and waited for someone else to say something. As for brilliant theories, Brom was fresh out of them. According to Sareh there had been nothing in her life that could account for her sudden telepathic abilities. Except—Brom snapped his eyes up to meet Sareh's gaze

"Sareh, when you were drowning you said you heard a voice, and back at the lake you said it was Saphira's voice you heard." Sareh nodded.

"It is." The two of them looked at Saphira who could only give a dragon's version of a blank look.

"_I don't remember anything of the sort."_ Brom ran a hand over his face, the sharp bristles of his clipped beard catching his palm, reminding him that this was real.

"What if it was when we were first training Saphira?" Saphira's great blue eyes shifted as she thought about his question.

"_That was a long time ago Brom."_

"I know, just think Saphira, maybe something will remind you." Brom stroked Saphira's long neck, the great muscles twitched from his touch, the scales rippling. The movement caused the sun to glance off of them. The light from them struck Sareh's eyes.

"I remember seeing reflections in the water. Bright blue, and that's when I heard the voice. It told me to hold on that help was coming and then I heard something in the Ancient Language—Reisa wiol adurna." Both Brom and Saphira looked surprised.

"Rise from the water?" Brom said looking at Saphira who had gone oddly still. Sareh looked between dragon and rider.

"What, does that mean something?" Brom shook his head, still looking at Saphira.

"I don't know, Saphira?" the dragon sighed, the breath from her mouth blowing the hair back from their foreheads.

"_I remember." _Sareh's head snapped back and her gaze met Saphira's.

"Then it _was_ you I heard that day." Saphira bobbed her head in agreement.

"_I remember that it was the first time I had ever used magic."_ This Brom was confused,

" And where was I?"

"_Riding of course. We were training, you weren't paying attention when I saw a little girl in the water."_ Brom was dumbfounded.

"Did you even bother to say anything to me about it?" Saphira shook her head no.

"_I was arrogant then, I thought I could handle it on my own."_ Brom sighed and looked at Sareh. She was biting her lip attempting to absorb all of the information she had just been given. It was _not_ an easy task. Brom pushed at Saphira's shoulder.

"You said you used magic, what exactly did you intend?" Saphira looked at her rider.

"_I believe I meant to lift her out of the water." _Brom ran a hand through his hair, realizing that Saphira may have opened a door that shouldn't have been.

"How old were you when this happened Sareh?" Sareh thought for a moment,

"I think was eight summers old." Brom looked at Saphira again this time ready to challenge what she had said.

"That would have made me ten. Saphira, at that age, neither one of us was old enough to use the Ancient Language." Saphira gave a slight snarl apparently this meant Brom was wrong.

"_No, **you** were not old enough. Dragons are born with such power it is a trait you riders would sorely miss if we weren't. I wasn't experienced enough to use it without you, the doubling of power, because she never surfaced."_ Sareh agreed, putting a hand on Brom's arm.

"After I heard Saphira's voice in my head everything went black. My father had to swim beneath the surface to get me." Brom's lips tightened with his frustration, he just couldn't seem to explain why Sareh had these powers.

"Was there anything else that seemed strange, before you realized you were hearing other's thoughts in your head?" Sareh flipped through the memories in her mind, of waking up to her mother's frightened face, her father crying on a stool by her bed as she healed, the chicken broth her mother had made her, her shoulder being sore.

"My mother told me as I was getting well that she couldn't tell why I was so weak. That when my father had brought me back to our home, that no water was in my lungs, but I wasn't even conscious for two days. She also noticed that I would cry out if anyone touched my shoulder. She said there's a scar there, but I've never been able to see it." Brom didn't know what to make of that.

"May I see?" Sareh hesitated. It was one thing to let a stranger know one of your greatest fears, it was another to bare skin for them. When she looked into Brom's eyes though, she didn't see any nefarious intent. He was truly trying to help her figure out what was happening to her, not take advantage of her.

Sareh didn't want to know how she had known that just by looking at him.

She turned her back to Brom and carefully lowered the sleeve of her left arm. Saphira craned her long neck to look around Sareh's side to look at the now exposed flash of her shoulder. Brom was silent as he saw what he saw. If Sareh truly hadn't been able to see what was on her shoulder before, she'd be able to see it now.

Upon her shoulder was a nicely sized mark. It was silver, not unlike the gedwëy ignasia Brom bore on his own hand. It shined brightly now, almost on it's own in the shape of a serpentine dragon. A long tail and head conjoined by a thin body, it's maw wide as though looking to consume Sareh's shoulder. It reached from mid-shoulder blade to the curve of her neck and shoulder. Brom traced the sliver lines with his finger, sending a shiver down Sareh's back and raising goose bumps on her skin. Brom and Saphira met each other's gazes; the concern for what was going on evident on both of their faces.

"Saphira, what did you do?" Saphira's eyes grew wide, the sapphire in them darkening.

"_I don't know Brom… She lived, I didn't realize I had done anything that might have changed her."_ Sareh lifted her sleeve, covering her own dragon.

"You mean to say that because you said those words while I was drowning, it caused me to be able to hear your thoughts without even trying?" Saphira looked at her sadly, her answer obviously yes. Brom pinched the bridge of his nose, whether trying to pull everything he knew about the Ancient Language directly from his mind or to keep a headache from beginning, no one could tell.

"In a sense, yes… According to Saphira what she intended was to pull you from the water, but in the Ancient Language you must be ever so careful to say _exactly_ what you mean or the words you use may end up not doing what you expect. Saphira may have inadvertently prevented water from entering our lungs and opened your _mind_ to the minds of dragons; the gift she didn't know she was giving may also have included the ability to prophesize." Sareh looked at Saphira, unsure of whether she should scream or cry.

Previous to her meeting Brom, she had never met a Shur'tugal, and she had certainly never met a dragon. Though when they flew over Carvahall, she remembered thinking she could almost hear their thoughts. Now that she was looking at Saphira and _could_ hear the thoughts of self-loathing and lack of faith in her powers, Sareh couldn't help but go to the dragon and wrap her arms around the great sapphire neck in front of her.

"I know you were trying to help Saphira." She lifted her face from the scaly skin and looked Saphira in the eye,

"I know you didn't mean for this to happen." Saphira's great eyes loosed a few generously proportioned tears, and the great dragon laid her head Sareh's shoulder.

"_I'm sorry Sareh… Will you forgive my arrogance?"_ Sareh smiled and nodded into rough skin. Whatever initial impression she might have had when she had met Saphira, she now knew they were incorrect. When she had listened to Saphira's thoughts, the fear the dragon had felt when she had spotted she and Brom kissing in the lake; the fear of losing her rider had shot through her like lightening.

Apparently Brom wasn't one to stay committed. Oh, he liked women; he just didn't know what it meant to be loyal to one. When Saphira had flown over the lake and felt what Brom had been feeling, she had been afraid that he would no longer be faithful to his dragon. Sareh stepped back to look Saphira in the eye once more.

"Brom's love for you won't change Saphira, this I know. You two are bound in ways I cannot ever break. You are dragon and rider that is a union that will withstand every Sareh that enters your lives." Brom looked at Saphira and saw that it was true. In his desires to meet Sareh and pursue her, he had allowed himself to be blind to the feelings and thoughts of his dragon. He hadn't realized what a danger Saphira had thought Sareh was. And, now that they were even more connected with Saphira's unintentional gift, the tension had only gotten worse.

"Will the both of you forgive _me_ for bungling this up again?" The two broke their hug and looked at Brom.

"What?" _"What?"_ Brom shuffled his toe into the dirt beneath his still bare feet.

"I never seem to introduce anyone properly. Not even myself. Then things like this happen." Sareh and Saphira looked at one another and then pulled apart enough to let Brom join them.

"_Oh, you're such a child!"_ Saphira scolded, wrapping a clawed foot around her rider and pulling him to her. Sareh held her own free arm open and helped gather Brom in.

For a few moments, the three stood linked, Saphira the middle ground for her rider and her new friend. Through her they were able to see into the hearts of one another.

It is an inevitable human nature to believe that love cannot happen instantaneously, that the process must take time. This inevitable belief is challenged daily but hastily reapplied with the glue of doubt. Love begins at the first spark; time simply feeds that spark until it becomes the passionate fire that love represents. For Brom and Sareh that spark was there, and they both knew it.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

With the mystery of Sareh's powers, somewhat solved, the group became closer. With the time Brom and Saphira had before they had to return to their post they filled their days with Sareh and Sareh's loving family. Saphira endured Radwan and Darius' admiring glances and Brom answered the questions they thought up, surely while they were sleeping. The family was honored to have caught the interest of a Shur'tugal. Well, that their eldest daughter had. Sareh hadn't been sure she had wanted to tell her family about the discovery that she and her companions had made, but somehow, her mother had known she was different. When questioned after supper that first night, Sareh had shared everything with her parents. Now that her family knew and it hadn't changed how they felt about her (Amani had become permanently attached to her leg) Sareh felt a little bit better about this sudden change.

As the days passed, Sareh and Brom spent as much time together as was possible. Earning his keep, Brom helped Sareh's father with the men's chores, waking early in the morning to join Kamran in the fields to work until the noonday sun drove them into the shade of the house to chop wood or the barn to feed the family's livestock. Sareh helped her mother in the house or wherever her mother sent her.

When the two had finished their work, they were given leave to roam the countryside or eat their dinner beside the lake, where everything had begun for them. Sometimes Saphira accompanied them, other times she flew off to the forest to catch her food, giving the two time alone. They talked a great deal about the future, what they hoped to see and somewhat skirting around the issue of how the other would fit into that picture.

Even so, it was obvious the two were in love with one another. When they did eat with the family, one was always watching the other from across the table. When Brom saw Sareh laugh or smile at a sibling's silly antics his face fairly lit the room itself. Sareh seemed so happy, almost joyful when Brom was around, when he wasn't near her Sareh was somewhat withdrawn, more of the quiet person she had been before, when he was at her side she looked as though nothing could go wrong.

They weren't beyond a little lusty looking either. Sareh could often be found just out of eyesight of the fields, admiring Brom when the heat drove him to remove his heavy linen shirt, revealing lean muscles over a tall frame. Caitir had found herself coming to shoo her daughter away more and more often. Brom found himself wanting to kiss Sareh at the most inopportune moments. He knew that he would have a chance to do it at some point when they were alone, but at that very moment her lips looked so undeniably soft or her hair was falling around her face in such a way, or her long neck was exposed enough for a surprise kiss. Unfortunately he saw these things when her mother was less than five feet away, or her father and his hunting bow were within range. Brom's self-control took quite the beating but in the end it made each kiss sweeter and more worth the wait then before.

As for Saphira, she was hoping to make a right out of a wrong and was helping Sareh learn to block out any invasions of the mind from those that had less than harmonious intentions. The sudden attack of thoughts that were not her own were silenced. Now that she was aware of it, it seemed she could hear things more clearly. At the moment, Sareh could hear the thoughts of a dragon and the conversation it was having with its rider. Though one-sided she could hear it clearly.

"They're arguing over something, I'm not sure what, the dragon isn't saying." Sareh said as she sat, cross-legged, her hands folded in her lap and eyes closed.

_"You know it's rude to listen in on other people's conversations."_ Sareh popped one eye open and looked at Saphira who lay in front of her. Her large dragon body curled up in the grass, her head inches from Sareh's feet.

"Well, if you're dragon comrade would kindly stop yelling his thoughts, perhaps I could concentrate on protecting his privacy once more." Saphira laughed, Sareh winced. She understood what Brom had been talking about now. When Saphira's laughter had ended Sareh caught the tail end of a comment made by the dragon in question.

_"If the council denied him, then they denied him. They can't keep handing them out as if their sweets." _Sareh's eyebrows lifted as she heard this. Denied whom, and what?

"Saphira?"

_"Yes?"_

"Do you know of a council?"

_"Do you mean the Shur'tugal council?"_

"I have no idea what I mean, if it's a council then I suppose so."

_"There is a group of Riders that meet and make decisions for the whole of the order. Why?"_

"They just denied someone something." She could feel Saphira's emotions change, from content and lazy to somewhat concerned.

"That would be Galbatorix." Both Saphira and Sareh caught up in their discussion hadn't noticed his coming. They both jumped, which was quite a sight when watching a dragon the size of about ten elephants nearly leap out of her skin. Sareh pressed a hand to her chest, her heart pumping so fast she could feel it against her hand.

"Speaking of rude… A little warning next time!" Brom sat down beside her, planting a warm kiss on her temple.

"Sorry love." Saphira made a harrumphing noise. Brom gave an exasperated sigh and stroked Saphira's nose, a contented purr was his payment.

"Are _all_ the females in my life now satisfied?" Sareh and Saphira looked at one another and shook their heads.

"No." "_No._" Brom rolled his eyes and threw his hands up.

"Fine." Sareh poked Brom's arm, bringing him back to the conversation at hand.

"Who is Galbatorix?" Brom and Saphira both grew sad at the mention of the name. Brom after a moment answered,

"He's a Dragon Rider, or at least he was. He and his dragon were patrolling when they were ambushed. His dragon was killed in the attack." Sareh's eyes grew wide with sympathy. She wasn't even a Dragon Rider and the thought of losing Saphira was unbearable. She shook her head,

"That poor man." Brom nodded,

"Yes—He had requested another dragon egg right before Saphira and I left for The Spine." Sareh put a hand to her mouth,

"So that's what they were talking about!" Brom agreed,

"Apparently they've denied his request. Of course their decision wasn't truly that surprising." Sareh gave Brom a puzzled look,

"What do you mean?" Saphira nudged Sareh's foot to draw her attention,

_"Well, from what we've heard, his dragon's murder made him go mad. It makes sense that the council wouldn't grant him another egg, especially when they only receive two or three a year."_ Sareh understood completely now, she felt terrible for the man named Galbatorix. To lose your closest friend and the bond you've forged, she could only imagine. However, as she thought about him, she felt a niggling in the back of her mind, something that told her the something terrible was in the wind. Before she could investigate what she felt Brom had rested his hand on her leg,

"How do you know the council declined his request?"

"I heard another dragon arguing about it. They believed that if the council made the final decision then it's final, they shouldn't be handing out eggs like they're sweets." Saphira breathed a puff of smoke out into the open air.

_"Certainly not, and there's no guarantee another would hatch for him. To the hatchlings he already has a dragon. He bears the Gedwëy Ignasia already, what's to keep them from ignoring him?"_ Brom and Sareh nodded their agreement; it did make sense that the tiny dragons that waited in their eggs for their riders would pay no heed to Galbatorix since he had already had a dragon. The Ancient spell upon them did keep them within their eggs until they sensed their rider. They're disregard for his desire to have another dragon might have sent him even farther over the edge.

"Who was having this argument?" Brom asked as Sareh rubbed Saphira right between the eyes right where she liked it. Sareh shrugged,

"I don't know, I never heard them say their name."

"Can you see who they're looking at?" Sareh had no idea what he was talking about.

"Beg pardon?" Brom didn't know why she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Er, Dragon Riders have the ability to see through their dragon's eyes, maybe you can do the same." Sareh hadn't known of this ability much less if she could do it herself, but the thought was intriguing—to see through a dragon's eyes, how wonderful. She closed her own hazel eyes, allowing her head to tip down towards her legs. Her dark hair, pulling loose from its tie, fell around her face until Brom could no longer see her features. He leaned in, looking to share the Ancient words that would help her.

"Dragon Riders use the words Skulblaka—" Before he had the chance to finish Sareh's head snapped back up, her eyes were no longer her own, they were red, and reptilian, but only for a moment. As her eyes took their normal color, it became apparent that Sareh was shaken by the experience.

"I don't think I'm going to do that again—I'm certain that's something that should be done by a Shur'tugal, not me." Brom was apologetic,

"I didn't think of it that way, I'm sorry." Sareh rubbed a hand over her eyes as though to clear them of vision that wasn't hers.

"It's an incredible experience. I saw as a dragon would, I was able to see things that I couldn't with my own eyes." Brom's attention was brought back to the fact that she had neither used the Ancient words that he did to see through Saphira's eyes, but also that she hadn't appeared to use any of the Ancient Language at all.

"How did you do that, without using Ancient words?" Sareh shook her head, her eyesight was returning to normal but it still felt as though she was looking through distorted glass, the feeling of seeing double occurred as well and it made her feel queasy.

"I just thought to myself that I wanted to see through the dragon's eyes, and I did."

"Incredible, your power must be… What did you see?" Brom asked, the curiosity of who had been discussing council decisions was getting the better of him. Sareh gathered her thoughts and described what she had seen whilst looking through borrowed eyes.

"I saw a man with long dark hair and the strangest blue eyes, I was so focused on seeing him that I couldn't hear what he was saying but he looked a little upset." Brom looked at Saphira and smiled,

"Of course he would be upset, Morzan never agrees with any kind of authority." Saphira rolled her eyes while Sareh gave a questioning glance to Brom.

"Morzan is one of my closest friends, he and I had eggs hatch around the same time and we were both taught by the great Oromis and his dragon Glaedr." Saphira winced at the name Glaedr.

_"That dragon is vicious. He had me flying updrafts everyday for months until I did it his way. Now every time I feel the wind pushing my wings up I want to cry."_ Sareh smiled at Saphira's melodramatic tone. The difficulty of the training the two had had to go through just to get to this point couldn't be denied, but Saphira had a tendency for the dramatics and often times simply made things out to be worse then they truly were.

"You'll have to tell me about this Morzan sometime." Brom nodded and just watched Sareh as she picked at the grass around her. Her power was more intense then he had first thought. He couldn't believe that Saphira's young incompetence had brought all the capabilities that she had to life. If anything Saphira had simply opened one door that led to several others. She had been born with these powers, most likely never to know of them, seeing as she was the daughter of farmers.

It was truly amazing what fate caused.

If Brom had known while he was musing about fate, what it truly had in store, he wouldn't have found it quite as incredible as it seemed. In reality, Brom wasn't the only one amazed by the power Sareh displayed. Morzan and his own dragon were as well, the obvious tug of magic had warned them of Sareh and although they were still loyal to the old order, _their_ fate would seal that of Sareh and all that she loved.

A/N: Short chapter (finally) I know. This is one of those filler chapters that helps explain what happens later on in this story, it seems kind of slow, but I don't think it's too bad and I gives me more time to work on Chapter Seven! R&R Please!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

The days left before Brom and Saphira had to leave were dwindling and it was affecting everyone in the family. The twins had become quite attached to Saphira, who, though begrudging at first became rather connected to them as well. Amani had nigh become another limb on Brom. The little girl had fallen head over heels when Brom had carved a dragon statue to go with her Manoush toy. Amani had taken it as a sign that Sareh and Brom were going to be together forever. She trailed Brom around her family's lands, clutching her Manoush toys. For a man with little to no experience with children, he handled her intruding on his space rather well.

Sareh watched from the house as Brom and her little sister chased one another around the grassy yard. Brom let the little girl catch him and knock him to the ground, long legs flying up in the air as Amani tackled him. Sareh heard his laughter on the wind and smiled. As Brom hauled little Amani up, tossing her into the air and catching her until she giggled uncontrollably Sareh let herself realize for the first time, that she could spend the rest of her life with Brom. He was far from perfect but perfect enough for her Sareh found herself wanting to know what kind of future she and Brom could have together. Before she had gotten to thinking about it further Amani ran up to her older sister, breathless from her play in the field. Sareh smiled at her little sister and picked her up, balancing the girl on her hip.

"Enjoying yourself Amani?" She grinned, showing holes in her smile where several teeth should have been, she nodded enthusiastically. Sareh giggled and looked up as Brom's shadow covered them. Amani waved at him as he closed the gap between the girls and himself.

"What are you two laughing at?" he asked as he reached them, Sareh and Amani looked at one another,

"Should we tell him?" Amani nodded and Sareh looked up at her Dragon Rider.

"We're laughing at you oh mighty Shur'tugal!" Brom was quiet for a moment, the mirth on his face breaking through the fierce look he was trying to enforce. It was an amusing combination. Finally Brom just shook his head, looking at his feet and then coyly at Sareh.

"Oh you're laughing are you?" His hands shot out and he started tickling Amani mercilessly who started laughing so hard she nearly fell out of Sareh's arms. Sareh laughed with her until Brom's eye fell on her as well.

"Don't think you're getting away with something, _oh_ dear lady… _You're_ next!" Sareh let her eyes go big and she started backing away, Amani throwing her arms around her sister's neck.

"Oh, we can't let _that_ happen can we?" Sareh asked and the little girl shook her head wildly. Sareh broke out into a run, holding her sister tightly, Brom chased after them. Sareh shrieked, weaving left and right, avoiding her hunter. Amani giggled out loud as her sister made escape after escape. Finally the two grew weary of the chase and collapsed on the ground next to one another, Amani resting on Sareh's chest. They had barely gotten their breath back when Sareh's mother began calling from the back of the house. They lifted their heads enough to hear what she was yelling about.

"Sareh! Send Amani back in for dinner! Brom, I've got that basket finished for you." Amani had already crawled off of Sareh and was running back to her mother, her long hair streaming out behind her as she ran. Sareh laid her head back down and looked at the sky; until it hit her that her mother had said "the basket was prepared".

"Uh, Brom… What did my mother mean about the basket being done?" Brom joined her in watching the clouds.

"It's my last night here Sareh, I wanted to take you some place special tonight." In their romping with Amani, Sareh had forgotten that Brom's leave was ending tonight. It felt like a giant weight was pressing on her heart now that she had been reminded that he was going. She was quiet for a moment. Brom on the other hand, although sad, wasn't about to let it ruin their night.

Because _tonight_, was going to be special.

"Are you not wanting to go tonight, because I'm sure whatever your mother is cooking is going to be delicious—" Sareh flung her hand over and whacked him lightly on the stomach.

"Of course I want to go, I was just thinking about it being the _last_ time we go anywhere for awhile."

"Don't think of it that way. It'll just be an extended—it will be an extended something." Sareh laughed.

"Extended indeed." The two of them were interrupted when Sareh's mother whistled from the door. Brom smiled and picked himself up.

"Better get that before she feeds it to someone." Sareh laughed and waited, lying in the grass. She watched as Saphira landed in the field ahead of her. She sat up and looked at Saphira quizzically.

"Saphira, what are you doing here?" Saphira poked a claw lazily into the grass.

"_I'm here to take you to your special outing."_ Sareh was even more puzzled.

"I thought you couldn't take more than one person, and how far away is this place?" Saphira brushed a clod of dirt off of her claw.

"_It isn't too far, and I'm strong enough for short distances, well, short distances to **me**."_ Sareh looked at Brom as he returned with the basket her mother had prepared for them. When he reached her he lifted the basket up and down a few times, groaning as though it were too heavy for him.

"I'm fairly sure your mother packed a whole cow for us. I do hope your hungry." Sareh smiled,

"Mama never does anything small." She looked at Saphira,

"So Saphira tells me we're _flying _to wherever we're going." Brom glared at Saphira whose eyes widened with innocence.

"She did, did she? One can only hope she hasn't given **_too_** much away." Saphira shook her head.

"_I did **not**, I just had to explain my part in this little adventure."_ Brom nodded with only the slightest bit of sarcasm.

"Of course," he looked at Sareh,

"Shall we?" Sareh was a bit hesitant. Although she loved Saphira and they were dear friends now, she had never flown in any form or fashion with _her_ or _any_ dragon for that matter. Brom sensed her hesitation and pulled her gently to Saphira's side, where Sareh was surprised to see Brom's saddle already on Saphira's back.

"_We put it on earlier, enjoy the view, it's been itching all afternoon."_ Sareh gave a thankful pat to her friend and with help from Brom, clambered up onto the tall back of the dragon. Brom handed Sareh the picnic basket and headed to the front but was stopped by Saphira's tail, she had flicked it forward and blocked his path.

"_Hand me the basket Brom, and sit with your woman."_ Brom was taken aback,

"Beg pardon?" Saphira craned her neck and looked Brom in the eye.

_"You heard me, hand me the basket and climb on."_ Brom took the basket from Sareh, who was suddenly realizing that Saphira had just called her Brom's woman. A thought that was slightly thrilling and scary at the same time.

"Are you sure?" Brom asked as he slid the basket over Saphira's smallest (if there was such a word for a dragon) claw and headed back to Sareh. Saphira rolled her eyes.

_"It will be a heavy load either way, besides, she's never ridden before, wouldn't want her sliding off mid-flight."_ Brom climbed up behind Sareh, wrapping his arms around her. Sareh was unprepared for the great power in Saphira as she felt the muscles in her back and legs bunch as she prepared for her flight. When they had left the ground, Sareh was not expecting at how fast. Brom feeling her tense tightened his arms around her, pulling her against his chest, reassuring her that she would not fall. Sareh relaxed and took in the feeling of flying that so many riders refused to share.

Sareh's hair was flung around her face and goose bumps popped up on her arms as the sudden chill hit her bare skin.

It was wonderful.

Before she knew it they had reached their destination and Saphira was landing, avoiding crushing the basket she had perched on her claw.

_"We're here children."_ Brom slid off expertly, landing steadily. He turned to help Sareh off, only to find that she had taken care of the task herself. She too landed as though she had been doing it all of her life. He smiled and offered her his hand. He leaned in, and whispered against her ear,

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a natural born Dragon Rider." Sareh smiled and pulled her ear away from his tickling breath.

"But, you know better." She went to Saphira who was patiently holding her clawed foot out, the basket dangling like a flower hanger from her toe. Sareh took it, agreeing completely that her mother had indeed packed too much. As she and Brom made their way to their dinner spot, Saphira prepared for flight once more.

_"Just call when you need me—Don't stay out too late."_ She took off and left the two of them in the clearing. Sareh was suddenly hit with the beauty of her surroundings. The clearing led to the edge of a tall hill, high enough to see the village below and the gorgeous sunset that was taking place.

"Brom it's beautiful." Brom took the basket from her and began to set out their meal.

"It truly is." He took care of putting the food out as Sareh soaked in the splendor of their surroundings. He called to her softly when he was finished; she turned and joined him on the blanket he had set out for them to sit on. They ate their dinner, avoiding the questions they had built up until after they had finished. By then Brom had thought up what he wanted to say, and the minute Sareh had put the leftovers in the basket, he pulled her back to sit next to him.

"Sareh, I—I have something to say to you." Sareh smiled up at him from where she leaned against him, enjoying the feel of his arms around her.

"What is it?" As he matched her gaze, he began, hoping that he didn't let himself be frightened from saying what he wanted to say.

"These past weeks have been, incredible. Leaving tomorrow will be one of the hardest things I will ever have to do, for me **and** for Saphira." He took a breath, a moment to keep it together.

"So what I have to ask of you, isn't easy for me, only because I'm afraid of the slightest chance that you may not agree." Sareh sat up and turned to face him.

"Whatever it is, just ask, I'm sure it is it isn't going to be as you fear." Brom smiled and then fumbled around in his pocket.

"Sareh, before I leave tomorrow, I want to know if you will be mine. That you will allow me to love you the best way I know how and that you will take me as yours." Sareh looked at him in shock. Brom continued,

"I don't know if I've ever believed in love, or if I did if I ever thought it would happen for _me_. I know now that I do, and that it's because of you. I never want to let that go, so if you'll wait for me, I swear to you I will come back and take you as my wife." He lifted Sareh's left hand and slid a silver ring onto it, kissing her knuckles as he did, what seemed a thousand years ago, hoping that he wouldn't be sliding it back off in a few moments. Sareh was silent for a moment, confirming Brom's fears of being completely wrong about what he had felt.

And, then she smiled.

"Of course I will." Brom hadn't realized until she kissed him that he had been holding his breath. He had forgotten about that vital function and only began breathing after Sareh pulled back. Brom couldn't have been happier as Sareh smiled at him. He pulled her in for a long hug, taking the time to remember her features, the way she felt in his arms, the way her hair smelled, all of it. He and Saphira were going to be on patrol for three months at the least over The Spine and then the outskirts of the Hadarac Desert. He and Saphira wouldn't be able to return even for short visits that often. He could only hope that Sareh's power worked over long distances and they could talk with one another through Saphira.

Sareh turned back and settled into her original position, wrapping Brom's arms around her, and then taking the moment she hadn't before to look at the ring he had slid on her finger. A pink stone shined back at her, and after a moment Sareh realized it was in the shape of a heart. Brom lifted her hand and stared at it.

"Believe it or not I got a blacksmith to form the setting on short notice, and Saphira made the stone—I think she thought she was being funny when she made it into a heart." Sareh made a tsking sound.

"Ohh, it doesn't look _too _bad from _this_ angle." Brom laughed and kissed her fingers once more. Sareh snuggled back, laying her head on his shoulder. They sat there, just taking in the feeling of one another. Finally it _seemed_ they had an idea of where they were going with their futures. They watched the sun go down and feel asleep holding one another right before the last ray fell behind the horizon.

Sareh's dreams however, were not ones filled with weddings and future families but pain and sorrow. She could hear a voice, ringing in her ear; it didn't make sense, what she was hearing.

_Why? I am a Dragon Rider they cannot take that from me. A dragon, just one, is all I ask, what difference does it make? Not right for a dragon, don't deserve a dragon. I suffer. **They** will suffer._

Behind Sareh's eyelids flashes of horrible things came. She saw a young man, unshaven and gaunt. His eyes burned with madness and his palms bled from clenched fingers. He was muttering to himself and ripping at his hair with bloody hands. Just as quickly as she had seen this, Sareh saw dragons, a mass of them in the sky dressed in armor, clawing and breathing fire at one another. She saw as one by one dragon and rider fell by the hands and teeth of another. Her heart ripped at every death until she was whisked to another scene, one that made her heart die all together.

In front of her lay a great mass, another form hunched over it, the cries coming from it identified it as a man. As Sareh came closer the light fell on the great shape, revealing it as Saphira. A deep gash in her chest told Sareh she had been stabbed through the heart, her eyes clouded over with death. Sareh felt her own tears slide down her face as the light fell on Brom and the anguish that was shooting through him. He had his hands over Saphira's chest, repeating the Ancient words of healing, the magic shooting from his hand but having no effect on Saphira's wound. His sobs grew louder as it became more apparent that she wouldn't heal. Sareh looked up and saw a shadow fall across Brom's back, and a sword with a red blade lifted high. Sareh screamed for Brom to look, to save himself, but his grief over Saphira's death was too great. He didn't see he was about to die.

"BROM!" Sareh shrieked.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

**A/N: Sorry it's taking so long to get chapters up. School is kicking my butt right now and my tired eyes won't stay open long enough to crank them out as fast anymore. Short chapter I know, but I thought I'd try to put up what I can. Thanks to my reviewers (new and old), I appreciate all of your suggestions and support. Keep 'em coming!**

Brom woke to Sareh trembling in his arms. His eyes opened to a thick veil of darkness. At first Brom thought he had gone blind, until the weak light of the moon filtered through the trees and he was able to see the outlines of the trembling woman he was holding. He attempted to wake her but whatever she was seeing in her mind held her fast. Brom shook her gently, trying to bring her out of it, but to no avail. Her eyes twitched beneath her lids and Brom could feel her racing heart against his chest.

"Sareh!" He tried again, lightly slapping her cheek. He didn't want to hurt her, but he couldn't wake her either. Sareh began to cry out and finally Brom couldn't take it any longer.

"SAREH!" His yells and shaking seemed to have woken her. Sareh's eyes opened and looked around blearily. When they finally focused on Brom, Sareh flung herself at him. Her arms wrapped tightly around him and her face buried against his neck.

"Brom— you're all right." Brom didn't know what she meant, but tried to comfort her as best he could. He stroked her back and kissed her forehead as uncharacteristic tears fell from her eyes.

"What happened? What did you see?" Brom was certain that whatever it was, it wasn't good. Sareh wouldn't speak, _couldn't_ speak. Her fear and shock over what she had seen kept her mouth tightly clenched as she soaked in his strength. Brom called to Saphira who made a witty comment about staying out too late. Brom snapped at her to join them, his emotion evident in his thoughts. Having never had Brom speak to her in such a manner, Saphira knew something serious was happening. She took flight quickly and landed near the couple. Sareh clung to Brom who helped her up and led her to Saphira's side. Sareh had barely swung into the saddle when she leaned over the saddle horn and wrapped her arms around Saphira's neck. Saphira was surprised, although it wasn't an unwelcome gesture, it wasn't normal either.

"_What's wrong Sareh? What happened?"_ Sareh's mind was whirling Saphira could only make out flashes and tiny pieces of what she was seeing. None of it made sense to the great dragon. She saw things that greatly disturbed her and reminded her of a time when Alagaësía was in turmoil. She had those memories within her, and knew what Sareh saw was very much like it.

"_Brom, the things she sees… It's horrible."_ Brom looked at Sareh who had clenched her eyes shut. What was happening to her? Was it because of him? Saphira? What had caused all of this to come to her now?

His questions crowded his thoughts and as Saphira took off, he tightened his grip around Sareh automatically. How strange it was, that even after such a short time, he was already beginning to protect her. He wished he could do it for her now, but what was ravaging her thoughts was beyond his power.

As the cool air rushed around them he felt Sareh shiver and then pull back against him. He held her as tightly as he could, willing his warmth to envelope her. As they neared her home Sareh finally spoke,

"I cannot make of what I saw, just yet Brom. I don't know if what I see is truly what is to be or what might be, or simply my mind making things up to frighten me." Brom rested his chin upon her head.

"Whatever it is, tell me, I will do my best to help you through it." Sareh shook her head.

"I can't, I cannot tell you what I see until I better understand it myself. It would be wrong of me to cause you distress." Before Brom could disagree Saphira landed in front of Sareh's home. The light from the fire could just be seen from the window, and the shadows of someone moving within the hovel were thrown askew into the waiting darkness of the outside. Brom helped Sareh slide off the saddle. The day he had planned, attempting perfection was gone, killed with a single stroke of unknown magic. His sadness in not knowing how to help Sareh shot through him, any pain that might have come to her because of he or his dragon cut him deeply.

Brom walked Sareh to her door. She was oddly silent, thinking. She reached the door. She looked to Brom once more as she put her hand to the knob.

"I know you blame yourself Brom—Don't. What is happening to me is not your fault. When I figure it out, I will tell Saphira, I don't want to alarm you now." Brom met her eyes, his distress clear in his eyes. Sareh touched his face lightly and placed a gentle kiss upon his lips. Her calm was strange, considering a few moments ago she had been attacked with images too horrible to imagine on purpose.

Sareh opened the door, Brom holding her hand until the very last moment when her slim fingers slipped from his grasp.

As the door shut, darkness covered Brom, his head falling against his chest. Finally Saphira called to him.

"_Come Rider, trust in Sareh. She will uncover what is happening and when she does, she will tell us. In her own time."_


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

Brom had stayed out under the stars that night. For some reason, he felt that being in the same house, as Sareh would cause her dreams to be frightening the whole night through. He couldn't stand to bring her pain. Saphira had lain beside him, curing her tail protectively around him. The rough texture of her scales against his linen encased arms comforted him. Saphira believed in Sareh, the two of them had an understanding about Sareh and her powers.

"Saphira?" He felt his dragon shift beside him.

"_Yes Brom?"_

"Why didn't you press Sareh to share what she saw?" Saphira turned her head, one great eye fixed on his face.

"_Do you really need to ask that?"_ Brom gave her a look that in essence, expressed his need.

"Saphira—I love her. I want to make sure she's safe, but I can't do that if I don't know what's happening to her." Saphira gave a dragon's version of a shrug.

"_I care for her too Brom, but the images I saw were what were near the surface of her consciousness. Remember, I taught her how to close off her mind, even to me."_ Brom sighed. This was going to be difficult. He was leaving tomorrow, and the only difficulty he had foreseen was leaving Sareh. Now not only did he have to leave her, he had to leave her without knowing if she was going to be safe. Saphira nudged Brom's shoulder with her great nose.

"_She is strong Brom, she will understand it on her own."_ Brom leaned back against the dry, rough scales, the odd warmth emanating from his dragon lulling him to sleep. His slumber was restless leaving him to wake before the sun rose. He watched as it crept over the horizon, one leg pulled up to rest his elbow upon, hand hanging limply. Saphira stirred as rays of light crawled up the meadow, reaching for their shadows.

"_Tell me you slept Brom."_

"All right, I slept." Saphira glared at him as she stretched, her maw of a mouth gaping to reveal rows of gleaming, sharp teeth. She smacked her reptilian lips to unglue them. She met Brom's gaze,

"_I believe it's my duty to tell you, you're not a very good liar."_ Brom shrugged and picked his coat off the ground, shaking it free of loose grass and dirt.

"Sleep didn't seem so important."

"_It is when you have to begin patrolling again."_ Before Saphira could chastise him further the two realized they were not alone. Sareh had come to their patch of land, a shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Brom dropped the coat, uncaring of it gathering dirt again.

"Sareh." Sareh met him as he moved forward. She wrapped her arms around Brom's waist, laying her head on his chest. Brom kissed the top of her head, pulling her close.

"Did you sleep?" he asked her, wondering if her dreams had been overrun by disturbing images once more. Her slight nod against his chest reassured him slightly. She looked up at his worried face.

"Did you sleep Shur'tugal?" Brom couldn't look her in the eye for that one. Sareh sighed.

"I wish you would trust in me." Broom looked at her in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"I do!" Sareh shook her head.

"You're afraid I can't handle what I see." Brom touched her face, fingers tracing over the contours of her features.

"I just don't want you to face whatever this is alone." Sareh smiled, leaning into his touch.

"I won't be. I know I can communicate with you and Saphira, if I need help, I'll tell you. Please trust in me." Brom rested his face against her hair. His time was running short, he and Saphira had to report in soon. It was the last thing he wanted to do now. To leave.

Sareh sensed this and touched her hand to his face, a mirror of his own. Her hazel eyes met his blue ones, her calmness rushed through him like a river. He would never understand how she could be so calm when she was the one who was facing such terrible powers. Saphira moved forward to catch Brom's attention.

"_We have to go Brom."_ Brom looked back at Saphira, willing her to stop talking about leaving. When he returned his gaze to the woman he had fallen in love with, he saw that she had heard Saphira. She looked at Brom and nodded.

"Go." Brom knew he had to. His heart didn't want to. Sareh pushed against Brom's chest, backing him up until he bumped into Saphira's side.

"Go Shur'tugal. You have a duty to Alagaësía." Brom turned and mounted the dragon saddle upon Saphira's back. He watched Sareh as Saphira prepared to fly, his eyes never leaving her, even as Sareh became smaller and smaller in the distance. Finally Brom could no longer see her, but he knew that through Saphira, he and Sareh would know they would stay in contact. He could only hope that the terrible dream that Sareh had been put through would return during his absence.

He and Saphira arrived at their destination, reporting in and taking over for Morzan, the friend that Sareh had heard and seen while testing her powers. The two dragon's faced each other, treading air as a swimmer would water, staying afloat as their Rider's exchanged news.

"I don't know if you've heard Brom, but Galbatorix's request for another egg was turned down." Morzan spoke, hoping to share some new piece of information. He was sorely disappointed when he had found that his friend was clearly informed.

"I heard, I also heard he didn't take it well." Morzan was slightly puzzled.

"You've been hiding out in the wilderness doing who knows what—how could you know of the denial so soon?" Brom pursed his lips, should he share his betrothal? Would that put Sareh in danger?

"Let's just say I've been in contact." Morzan shook his head; the movement caused the sunlight to strike the blood-red stone in the hilt of his sword.

"I see. Well, now that you've returned from the wilds, feel free to patrol The Overgrown Bushes, the pimple on the face of Alagaësía." Brom chuckled and bid his friend goodbye, Morzan's dragon wheeling away and heading towards their own holiday, or wherever they had decided to travel. Brom sighed and patted Saphira's neck.

"Shall we?" Saphira let out a large puff of smoke.

"_Oh yes, I do so enjoy flying over this forest."_ With that, she headed towards the ends of The Spine. What they didn't know, is that someone had a plan for them and it was going to happen through someone they mutually loved.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

**A/N: Terribly sorry about the long wait! I've had so much going on that I had to cut back on my writing time, which is a shame if you ask me. Alas, college comes first. I do hope you enjoy the continuation of the story.**

* * *

The days grew longer, or so it seemed, for Brom who had to depend on Saphira to keep in contact with Sareh. Oftentimes he found himself daydreamin**g**

about her and their future, and of course if her dreams had returned as of late. He missed her terribly, a feeling he hadn't felt before, about anything or anyone. He was normally very contented to stay atop the back of his dragon, searching for anything nefarious in nature to attend to.

The Spine seemed quiet.

Brom grew bored of this post quickly and wished the mind-numbing duty would end quickly. Saphira looked at things quite open-mindedly, Brom attributed her cheerfulness to the fact that she was in constant communication with Sareh, while Brom had to survive on snippets of conversation and the occasional question from Sareh. It was as though he was waiting for a message that had been sent months ago, only to receive it when the information was old. It wasn't pleasant.

Weeks passed and finally Brom and Saphira were relieved from The Spine to journey to the Hadarac Desert. Brom was happy to have a change of scenery and Saphira was glad to have him stop complaining about _not_ having a change of scenery.

Sareh had briefly let Saphira know that she was fine; Saphira in turn shared this with Brom. He let his chronic worry slide off his shoulders and made his way about his duty, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

The day had barely begun when a fellow dragon rider and his steed entered the their territory at full speed. The dragon was exhausted from its journey and panted while trying to keep trembling wings flapping. Brom steady the rider who was also fighting to stay astride his saddle.

"My friend, what has caused you to cross such a great distance?" the man blinked blearily, looking for the strength to relay his message.

"Brom, it's Galbatorix." Brom's eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Galbatorix," the man murmured tiredly.

"Galbatorix, but… He doesn't even have a dragon!" the man nodded once more.

"Galbatorix did not take the council's decision to deny him another egg well. He has disappeared Brom and the council has decided several riders will be needed to find him." Brom looked at the rider across from him,

"And, I take it the council has already decided which riders will be sent." The man nodded.

"You are one of them Brom. You and your dragon are to join the search for Galbatorix. He has lost his mind Brom, he will become a threat to the Riders if he is not found." Brom looked out across the horizon, just to the right of Saphira's shoulder. His month at the Hadarac Desert could turn into much more time than planned. His thoughts centered on Sareh, he wouldn't see her until Galbatorix was found.

Inwardly he cursed Galbatorix. It was almost unfortunate he had survived the raid that had killed his dragon. Now his madness was to cause more lives to be put on hold.

"When am I to leave?" the man followed Brom's gaze, looking to see what he saw.

"Now, Brom, they want him found as soon as possible. I am to take your place at the outskirts while you search for him." Brom sighed and spoke with Saphira.

_"We must find him Brom… I remember Sareh sharing a moment of her dream with me, she heard a man gone mad with loss. I believe now, that it was Galbatorix."_

"Are you sure?"

_"The man was mumbling about the council being wrong to forbid him another egg."_ Brom sighed once more. Galbatorix seemed to have crossed into madness. A thin line to be sure but with the loss of a dragon, the council should have seen what Galbatorix could have been capable of.

_"We must tell Sareh."_ Brom glanced at the messenger; he had been waiting expectantly for Brom to leave. The man was thrilled that it wasn't required of him to follow a mad man. Brom gave him a curt nod and directed Saphira to fly towards their next destination. It was far from his objective of choice.

"We will have to tell her on the way." Saphira threw her head back for a moment of agreement. Brom shared his thoughts with her, hoping to hear Sareh's as the two spoke.

_"Sareh?"_ Saphira questioned, it seemed the message was hitting black, bouncing off into space. Brom had begun to worry for a moment, knowing Sareh answered even during her busiest moments. He felt Saphira's rising panic as well until Sareh's thoughts came through to them. They sounded sleepy, disjointed as though she had just woken.

"Saphira? Brom?" Saphira answered in the affirmative. Sareh was quiet once more.

_"Sareh? Are you all right? Sareh!" _Saphira questioned, Brom could feel her strong heart beat, strike against his legs. He was surprised to have felt it over his own thumping heart, his chest nearly cracking as his panic filled him. Sareh answered again.

"I did not mean to scare you two—it appears I fainted in the fields and I am trying to figure out why." Brom was slightly appeased by this, knowing that if she was talking to them she was at least not in danger, however hearing of this latest event made him feel uneasy.

"Does this have something to do with your gifts?" he thought through Saphira. He could almost see Sareh shrugging.

"I do not know." Brom lifted one gloved hand from the pommel of his saddle to rub his face.

"Will you be all right?"

"My mother is caring for me now, she says I'll be fine." Saphira shifted one of her great shoulders, reminding Brom that he had to tell her that they had been sent on a mission.

"Sareh, I am sorry to have to tell you this now, but Saphira and I have been ordered away from our last position." There was a moment of blank again, Brom not sure if she had fainted again held his breath.

"I see, may you tell me why?"

"Do you remember the man you heard my friend Morzan talking about that night, when you were testing your gifts?"

"Yes."

"His claim was denied and in the council's doing so, he has fled. He is insane Sareh, and must be found."

"And, you must find him?" Brom nodded into the fast moving wind as Saphira flapped her long wings taking them further away from Sareh.

"One of several Riders. We have been sent to locate him and bring him back to the council."

"When will you return?" Saphira interjected, slightly disconcerted by the conversation taking place in her mind, but without her own participation. This power of Sareh's was truly more than they had thought.

_"We do not know, most likely when he is found—that could take days even months. If Galbatorix was any Dragon Rider, he would have learned the lands of Alagaësía like the back of his hand."_

"I can see there is no way you can avoid this duty." Sareh said, her thoughts quiet, as though she were thinking outside of their conversation.

"I cannot Sareh. It is a direct order. The sooner we locate him, the sooner I can return."

"Then go, but promise me," Sareh asked, her thought-voice grim, like she had seen something that gave her cause to worry, "promise me you will be careful, both of you. I fear this Galbatorix is much more than a threat to the politics of the Riders." Saphira tilted her head back for a moment to look at Brom, to take heed of Sareh's warning seemed appropriate.

"Of course Sareh."

_"We will."_

"Go with my love." Sareh said, ending their conversation. Brom gripped the pommel of the saddle tightly, his gloves cutting into the hands encased in them. He loved Sareh very much, however he felt as though she was keeping something from him, and it had begun on the mountainside when had asked her to wait for him. She knew something and either she felt it meant nothing, or it was a vision of a future Brom wouldn't _wish_ to see.

Either way, he couldn't help but feel somewhat chagrined by her lack of informing him. He hoped that would change, and soon.

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­ Sareh shifted on her bed, the feathered prison her mother had forced her into. She felt fine, just confused as to how she had gotten there. According to her mother, she had been working in the fields with her father, a detail she remembered clearly, when she had simply frozen in mid weed pull, her father had noticed just before she had fallen to the ground. A detail Sareh did_ not_ remember. 

What was happening to her?

Her mother came up the stairs, her plump shadow crossing the wooden floor between them. Sareh smiled as her mother handed her a clay mug of water.

"How do you feel dear? No soreness or dizzy spells?" Sareh shook her head.

"No Mama. Nothing, I feel fine." Her mother smiled and touched her daughter's forehead, checking for any sign that could tell them why she had fainted as she had. Sareh's skin was cool to the touch, no fever, no cold sweats, nothing. Her mother was truly puzzled, after years of marriage and children; Caitir had felt positive that she had seen it all, only to be stumped by this. Sareh grasped the cup tighter and made to stand.

"Mama, I feel just fine, I can go back to the fields and help Papa…" She was stopped by her mother's small hand, small, but amazingly strong after a lifetime of childcare and hard work.

"Sareh, you fainted, I don't know why, now you're going to stay here where I can watch you."

"Mama—" Sareh began to fuss only to be stopped by a look from her mother.

"No more. You will stay in bed. Rest Sareh, heaven knows you've been working twice as hard since Brom left." Sareh found that she couldn't argue with her. Not that it had ever been an option, but when her mother decided that something was going to happen, it was going to happen. So she slid back on the bed and lifted her water up.

"Thank you for the water Mama." Caitir smiled at her daughter. Pleased that she had gotten the desired reaction climbed back down the stairs, bemoaning sore knees and that age had left her falling apart at the seams. Sareh smiled at her mother's groans and laments. She sat there, a shaft of light falling across her face. She watched specks of dust float through the light, sparkling as they journeyed into the light. She imagined Brom and Saphira as one of those specks, twisting and turning through the air.

When she had warned Brom to be careful, she had thought she had done it out of worry. After scrutinizing her dream, Sareh had come to the conclusion that the young man she had seen was none other than the Galbatorix she had heard Brom's friend discussing. After realizing this, she had also deduced that Galbatorix was the one to be blamed for the destruction of the rider's, including Saphira. The sooner Brom caught him the less of a threat he would be. Perhaps the future she had seen in her nightmare would be changed, denied by Galbatorix's capture.

As she thought this she began to feel dizzy, her vision starting to blacken at the edges. Sareh's eyes rolled back and she swayed on the bed, the clay mug slipping from her limp fingers, crashing against the floor. She heard her mother's cry of surprise and the scurry of feet up stairs as her hearing became plugged. Finally she fell back on the bed, completely still.

_Flashes of light caught Sareh's sight, pictures of more death, more dragons and their riders lying dead. Blood, so much blood. A man with red hair and eyes dark crimson, was he a man?_

_He stood in the dark, just ahead, back turned and arms outstretched. Words were uttered in languages that were unintelligible. In one dramatic move, he had turned, eyes blazing._

_Sareh felt as though her mind were being pulled apart as he stared. She screamed, fire tearing through her. _

"_Do you see me little girl?" the red-eyed man shouted, sharp teeth glinting in the flickering light. Sareh could not answer for the pain in her head. The man laughed as she writhed in pain._

"_Because, I see **you**!" he moved forward, looking to grab her. Sareh in a moment of fear pulled back, running. It felt as though she weren't moving at all, the pain in her psyche intensifying. The man seemed surprised as she ran, he roared in anger and followed, but it was too late. Sareh's mental jarring had loosened his hold._

_There was only black now._

* * *

_  
_Durza's maroon eyes opened in shock. How had the little chit gotten away? Cold, dark eyes met his surprised gaze; the pale, gaunt face of Galbatorix loomed ahead of him. The man stared at him; no emotion upon his face, even for Durza, a Shade overtaken by three spirits feared this man. Completely mad and lusting for revenge Durza had joined Galbatorix's plan of domination, the Shade wanting nothing more than the fall of the Rider's and their arrogant claim to power. 

"Well?" Galbatorix demanded, no longer willing to wait patiently for an answer. Durza looked at him grimly.

"She escaped me milord. She is much more powerful than we originally thought." He hoped his shock was not evident as Galbatorix leaned back against a tree smiling, the grove they had entered providing cover as they hid from the patrol of Riders sure to follow them. A feral laugh rushed from Galbatorix's throat.

"Perfect Durza. She is the key to our success." Durza looked at his master in confusion.

"How so milord?" Galbatorix sneered at him from his resting place.

"Because, you ignorant fool, she has the power to eliminate the Riders all together. She will bring their end." Durza's sharp teeth showed themselves once more as he grinned in tandem with his master.

This woman was the undoing of the peace in Alagaësía.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

Sareh's encounter with Durza had left her unconscious for days. Her family waited at her bedside, unsure if she would wake. When her eyes opened blearily, Sareh's mother was sitting beside her, head lolling against her chest, having tirelessly cared for her ailing daughter. As Sareh's foggy vision began to clear she tried to shift, her stiff joints arguing with her about the intelligence of moving. As she did she realized there was a lump in the crook of her arm. Twisting her neck slightly she realized that the Manoush rabbit she had made for her sister was snuggled against her.

She gave a weak smile and made to move her arm only to find it was too sore to do it. She gave a soft cry as the pain shot through her arm. The sound woke her mother, her head snapping up from her chest, her eyes focusing on her daughter.

"Sareh!" She rushed to the bedside, checking her daughter's vitals, pressing her hand against forehead and rubbing sore joints. She smiled down at her daughter as she did so.

"Oh Sareh, you had us all so worried."

"I'm sorry Mama." Her mother made a tutting sound to keep her quiet.

"Just rest darling." As her mother hovered around her trying to make her more comfortable Sareh tried to make sense of what had happened. She remembered the vision she had had in great detail; the man with crimson hair and maroon eyes, his sharp teeth glinting in a fire created in her mind. She remembered the horrible pain of him tearing through her mind, looking for something.

Looking for what?

Though she still didn't understand what he had been looking for, she knew who he was. She knew that he wasn't normal, his body felt inhabited, at least three presences outside of his own had been screaming at her in her mind. He felt powerful and she knew if she faced him unprepared again, she would lose.

She hadn't been entirely defenseless, not only had she discovered his name and what he was planning with the man Brom had told her about.

Galbatorix.

She didn't know it involved her.

Sareh tried to reach out to Saphira with her mind only to find that either she was too weak to do such an act or Saphira was too far away.

Which meant until she was well she wouldn't know what was causing her issues.

* * *

­­­­­­­­­Brom and Saphira had joined the search party, meeting up with Morzan along the way. Morzan was keeping a fairly good humor about the whole thing, being a bachelor and having no ties to any family, he felt this was an adventure. Of course having to find one of their own, who might have possibly lost his mind, was a disappointment to the Riders, but at least a change was in order. 

Brom couldn't agree. The further he and Saphira got from Sareh, the more concerned her grew and the more he wished he were with her. Morzan wouldn't understand this until he found his own life suddenly swept into the beauty of love.

He and Saphira had tried valiantly over the days they were searching to reach Sareh to see if she were all right but she wasn't responding. His concern was already at a peak but his orders were withstanding. Until he and his fellow Riders located Galbatorix he would have to wait with bated breath to see if the woman he loved was well.

So far, the search had been fruitless. They had hunted, what seemed like all of Alagaësía only to turn up empty-handed.

It would be months before Brom would see Sareh again. Galbatorix would continue to stay out of reach for so long that the Council would grow confident he was no longer a threat, calling off the search. But, for those few months, Brom and Sareh would endure a separation that would end most relationships.

They endured until several months had passed allowing Brom to return to Sareh.

What she had to tell him was unsettling.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

**A/N: So sorry for the delay my dears but I've been super busy with film projects and various other college related hell. However, I am attempting to finish what I've started, I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Saphira had barely landed when Brom leapt off her back, feet hardly touching the ground as he ran towards the now familiar house. Sareh had flung open the door just as Saphira landed. Now as Brom ran towards her Sareh went out to meet him. He caught her up in his arms, swinging her around in a complete circle. He held her close taking her in. Months apart, depending on Saphira to communicate had left him longing to touch her again. 

"Brom!" she said happily as he tightened his grip on her. After a moment of holding her he tilted her face up, kissing her softly.

"I honestly couldn't have asked Saphira to fly any faster. We both wanted to get here as soon as possible." Sareh smiled and kissed again.

"I have much to tell you Brom—" Before she could continue, the door of the house was flung open once more and Sareh's younger sister Amani, shot out into the clearing and straight to Brom. She caught him around the kneecaps, knocking him to the ground.

"BromBromBromBromBrom!" Brom laughed at the little girl's antics,

"AmaniAmaniAmaniAmaniAmani!" she smiled at him.

"You're here!"

"I am." Sareh leaned down and hauled the giggly one up.

"Excuse me miss, _I_ was here before you." Amani got up again and headed for the house where the rest of the family stood waiting. They waved as Brom got to his feet and waved back. He looked at Sareh who gave him a silly grin.

"They missed you." He moved closer and took her in his arms once more.

"Really." Sareh nodded while Brom lessened the distance between them.

"Yes, they really did." Brom's arms tightened.

"And what about you? Miss me?" Sareh gave him a thoughtful look.

"Maybe a little." Brom rolled his eyes and grabbed her to give her a kiss; a collective 'aww' could be heard from the group standing in the doorway. Sareh shot them a look, Caitir caught it and ushered the family inside.

Sareh looked at Brom and gestured for Saphira to join them from the spot she had taken over during the couple's reunion. Sareh's face had slid into a somber one.

"I didn't want to worry them, but I have much to tell you. Could Saphira take us to the cliffs so we can talk?" And with that the group set off

* * *

Sareh sat ahead of Brom as Saphira flew. The great dragon sliced through the air with great thrusts of her powerful wings.

"_Sareh?"_ Saphira asked, her voice oddly soft in Sareh's mind.

'Yes Saphira?"

"_You are troubled, quite a bit actually. What's wrong?"_ Sareh grimaced, she had hoped she could fool Saphira, but the dragon was too perceptive.

"I must wait and tell the two of you when we get to the cliffs."

"_I worry about you Sareh, you mean so much to Brom and your powers are unfamiliar to us." _ Sareh's face broke into a sad smile. She leaned forward as far as she could and hugged Saphira's neck. The warm dry skin of the giant reptile twitched and she could hear Saphira's contented sigh.

"What I've seen affects us all Saphira. I promise you I will do all I can to keep it from happening." Saphira gave a toss of her head in agreement.

"_If I can, I will too. My first thoughts are of my rider and his joys."_ Sareh shook her head.

"Brom could recover from me, but you, you are a past of his soul Saphira. If anything was to happen to you, he would be the same man." Saphira swung her head back and gave a look no one could contest with.

"_You underestimate yourself little one. Brom and I have a special bond that only we share, but his heart is yours. Brom was a man who enjoyed the life of a lone Rider. The minute he asked to be his is the minute he became new."_ Sareh looked at the ring on her left hand. Saphira had been right; it wasn't just a token from some woman conqueror. Brom wanted her, to have her as his own and have her feel the same for him.

Finally, Saphira reached the ledge that Brom had managed to turn into a safe haven for them. She landed with a gentle thud. Brom, who had been quiet through the whole trip jumped down and turned to help Sareh. He reached up to grab her around the waist. As he lowered her to the ground their eyes met.

He knew now, through her eyes that she was aware of how much he loved her. That throughout his patrol all he had wanted was to have this very moment and that she reciprocated that feeling. After a moment Sareh touched his face with her small hands. Brom pulled her near, face buried in her sweet smelling hair.

"Oh Sareh—" He was as surprised as she was when tears began falling from his eyes, "Please tell me what you've seen does not show me losing you." Sareh lifted her head to look him in the eye.

"I don't know. What I have seen may have already come into play." Brom shook his head and touched her face with shaking hands.

"No, whatever it is, I will not let it happen." For once Sareh had the calm and collected aura of a Rider.

"Brom, even a dragon cannot always prevent what's meant to be from happening. We may have no choice." Brom shook his head vehemently.

"No." Sareh sighed and pulled Brom to the clearing where he had asked her to wait for him. Saphira followed and lay beside them. Here she and Brom waited and listened to Sareh as she explained what had occurred to her during their absence. Brom grew angry, is frustration washing uncomfortably over woman and dragon.

"Where _is_ he?" Brom exploded, his voice echoing across the once peaceful cliffside. Sareh laid a hand on his.

"He will be found." Brom ran his free hand through his hair, seething.

"It's been months Sareh, he too good at hiding. We've combed through The Spine and any area he would dare conceal himself in."

"He was once a Dragon Rider Brom. Riders are trained to survive in situations such as these, are they not?" Brom gave an unsatisfied snort.

"Riders don't hide as cowards, sniveling behind bushes and hiding in trees. They show themselves, they fight." Sareh sighed and looked to Saphira for support. The dragon nudged her Rider with her nose.

"_Galbatorix lost his dragon Brom, he is broken and crazed now."_ Brom agreed hesitantly.

"A man know when had much to lose—and still remains a man as best he can if what he has _is_ lost." Sareh stood, her feet willing her to the cliff-edge. Her skirts brushed around her legs and her small feet crunched through deal foliage. Brom called to her softly but received no reply. Sareh's head tilted as she saw the sun turn crimson from setting.

Crimson sun.

Crimson eyes.

Sareh felt the tug she recognized it. It was the one called Durza. Sareh fought against him, but the Shade was wiser in his powers and overtook her once more. This time she saw no crimson eyes, just the bloodshot orbs that had once belonged to a young Dragon Rider.

"Hello my dear, how nice of you to join me." Sareh tried to struggle, it wasn't until then that she realized that she was no longer in her own body. Looking down she saw two hands oddly tattooed with long, curving and dirty nails. Durza had somehow switched their bodies. Which meant Durza was in hers. She tried to reach Saphira but somehow the Shade was blocking her attempt to warn Brom.

"You might as well stop struggling my dear. The demons within Durza are holding his body paralyzed. I am afraid you are going to be here for a while."

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Brom found himself feeling the very same way, as it became apparent Sareh was no longer Sareh. When had called her name her body turned but the eyes that met his were crimson, not the dark pools that were Sareh's. These eyes caused Brom's skin to crawl. 

Saphira reared and flung herself onto her haunches, clawed feet and wings outstretched. Her feral growl did not dissuade the bloody eyes staring from Sareh's face. Even this was no longer the kind and soft featured face of Brom's love, but a face contorted into cruel and ugly smile.

"Hello Shur'tugal." The voice was Sareh's, but the evil emanating from it was not.

"It appears, your Sareh was needed elsewhere—I wouldn't do that if I were you." Sareh-Durza said without even a glance in Saphira's direction. The dragon looked ready to breathe fire.

"You see, if you go after me, it will harm only your little woman—I can just switch back and there she'll be, alone and dying. Do you _really_ want that Shur'tugal?" Brom's anger rolled out over the clearing mixing with Saphira's own rage.

"_If we find him, I will kill him."_ She snarled. Brom raised his hand to silence her.

"Who are you and why are you doing this to her?" Sareh-Durza's lips curled into a sneer, a snicker passing through her.

"Quite the simpleton aren't you? Did you honestly think your little Sareh's powers would go by unnoticed? If she were being trained by better teacher's than you and your oversized newt there," Saphira growled,

"_If he were in his own body he would not dare say that."_ Another snicker and Sareh-Durza continued.

"If she were trained by more than the likes of you, she could understand the full extent of her abilities and be stronger than any Dragon Rider, stronger than even Elves—what a delicious thought, no?" Brom's fists clenched. Every breath that thing took with Sareh's lungs, every gesture it made in her flesh was a moment too long. It was unfortunate Brom couldn't rip him apart where he stood.

"I take it you're Galbatorix's new play toy, Durza." Sareh-Durza's eyebrows lifted.

"So the little chit got into my mind—how rude of her. Not to worry, Galbatorix will set her straight." Brom could only pray he wasn't hurting her.

* * *

­ Sareh stared at Galbatorix silently. The crazed man passed in front of her, waiting for her to burst into tears. She did not 

"What, no begging? Not questioning? Nothing as to why you're here?" Sareh shook her head.

"I'm sure you'll tell me whether I want to know or not." Galbatorix stopped pacing for a moment and stared, his face breaking into a malicious grin, a terrible laugh bubbled up from his chest.

"I like you, you understand how things work…" she remained silent. Galbatorix shook his head.

"Fine, I'll tell you—_You_ my lovely gifted one are going to help me bring the fall of the Shur'tugal." Sareh gave as an incredulous look as possible through the Shade's face.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you have no choice."

"And how is it that you've come to that conclusion."

"You've seen how easily Durza has entered and _removed_, I might add, your mind. He can just as easily control it and your powers." Sareh shook her head.

"Then how come you haven't done it yet?" Galbatorix was quiet. Sareh made the realization.

"Because you don't understand them anymore than I do!" Galbatorix grew angry.

"It's only a matter of time. Durza and I will find out what you're capable of and how to control it. By then it will be right and the Shur'tugal will fall." Sareh shook her head again.

"I won't help you. The Riders have not done _me _any ill and I will not be the cause of any to them" Galbatorix grabbed Durza's face with bone crushing force.

"The Rider's have done me ill and I _will_ see them pay."

"Why?" Sareh muttered through his grasp, eyes watering in pain.

"Because they didn't trust you with another egg?" Galbatorix let her go as if she had burned him.

"Didn't trust me," he shouted, "they're afraid of me! I was a better Rider than all the council, they knew that and they rejected my plea for another egg."

"Because you let you first dragon die!" Sareh shouted back, the unfamiliar tones of Durza echoing back. Galbatorix turned, angry bloodshot eyes on her.

"No! We were ambushed, she protected me!" Sareh could hear Saphira's earlier words in her mind.

"_My main concern is my Rider's joys."_ Dragons were willing to die for their riders. And, for a moment, Sareh felt sorry for him, the man who skulked before her, fermenting in his own misery.

"And, look what her sacrifice has brought. A mad man, looking to murder those who had nothing to do with it." Galbatorix looked at her, suddenly lucid again.

"I told you, you see the way of things." Sareh crossed Durza's arms.

"I will not help you Galbatorix, so you and your _pet_ Durza can rot out here—the Shur'tugal will find you and when they do, I will cheer." Galbatorix's minute of lucidity was gone and the madman returned.

"Oh, the Shur'tugal are too busy tripping over their own noses to find where I am. Their arrogance will be their downfall." Sareh shook her head,

"No, _your_ arrogance will be _yours._ You will be found." She saw his hands clench.

"It's too bad you're so insolent my dear. It would be interesting to explore your powers together." Sareh was disgusted.

"I would rather die than do anything of the sort." Galbatorix picked at his nails, very uncaring of Sareh's protest.

"Well unfortunately, I need you alive—but before you go, I want you to know that if you fail me, someone you've deemed worthy of your love—" he sneered, "will find himself losing much more than you." Sareh's mind instantly flashed to Brom leaning over Saphira's dead form. The horror must have shown because Galbatorix grinned.

"Don't worry my dear, I'll get you long before then." Before Sareh could reply she felt the tug, not familiar to her from Durza's mind. She saw Brom and Saphira a moment after, before she collapsed.

* * *

Brom wasn't sure he could be anymore furious at what was going on. Sareh's body was being defiled with presence of this thing. Durza found it amusing. 

"Oh, don't worry about the woman, as much as Galbatorix would adore bringing pain to a Shur'tugal like yourself, she's much more valuable alive." Brom, confused and angry demanded an explanation.

"What do you mean? What are you going to do to her?" Durza shook a finger at him.

"Uh-unh, if I told you there would be no plan, would there? You'll just have to wait an see." Durza became silent, his horrid eyes turning to slits as he focused on something.

"My master is calling me back, you'll get your little woman back, for now." Brom couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You do know he's going to use you until he's gotten what he wants. Then you're disposable." Durza laughed, the sound so wrong coming from Sareh.

"Silence fool. Galbatorix has a plan that benefits me. I have skills he needs." Brom moved closer until he was nose to nose with Sareh-Durza.

"You keep telling yourself that Durza, if Galbatorix doesn't kill you, _I_ will." Sareh's lips curled once more, and then he was gone. Sareh's eyes met his, dark eyes clouded in confusion as she fell.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait on an update, I might actually have time to write, now that my first semester of college is done and GONE… We'll see how it goes, and of course I now own Eragon the movie and can study Brom and other good stuff... Long note longer, this is not the final chapter. We've got a few more to go, so enjoy and we'll see how it all turns out!  
**

The trio sat in silence for a moment. Brom was staring into the fire he had made to warm them, Sareh sat near him, arms wrapped around her, while Saphira lay just outside of the firelight, her head resting near Brom's legs. The crickets hidden among the grass, calling with their abrupt calls of romance soon became irritating. Finally Sareh stood and grew infuriated.

"Well, I've had about enough of this." Brom looked up from the fire at her outburst.

"What?" Sareh turned and lowered herself in front of Brom, taking his hands in hers.

"Brom, we're looking at this like—like it's going to happen right now." Brom looked at her, puzzled.

"You don't think he's coming for you _right_ _now_?" he asked. The last thing he wanted to imagine was Galbatorix finding Sareh and forcing her into his service, for whatever sordid reasons he may have planned. Sareh on the other hand seemed to be implying that his plan wasn't one of hurry.

"No, I don't." Brom shook his head in disagreement.

"Sareh, the man sent his pet jackal to take over your body, and _told_ me that he was going to manipulate your abilities to his needs." Sareh tilted her head and raised her hand to Brom's face.

"He told me that as well Brom, but the risk he took to tell me was immense… While I was in Durza's body, I found that Galbatorix is not strong enough to attack the Riders yet." Brom looked at her in surprise.

"Do you mean to say, he was—lying?" Sareh gave him a half smile, slightly humored by his question.

"Galbatorix is a deranged man looking to destroy the Dragon Riders—of course he's lying." Saphira lifted her head as she heard this, her interest in stopping Galbatorix and protecting Sareh just as strong as Brom's.

"_So, we can alert the council before he even begins his vendetta, keep him from doing anything harmful.'_ Sareh shook her head,

"I'm not sure that will make any difference. I don't know _where_ Galbatorix is, that was information I couldn't gather, and if I'm using my abilities right—the council won't believe you anyway Brom." Brom pulled back, his eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hairline.

"Excuse me?" he asked, his disbelief evident. Sareh sighed she wasn't entirely sure how to tell him his beloved riders were not perfect.

"Brom—Even if you go to the council, you won't be believed. They think Galbatorix has been chased away, and that without a dragon he won't return… They're wrong and that will be part of their downfall." Brom was quiet for a moment, leaving Sareh to wonder if she had done wrong in telling him what she had seen in her visions. It wouldn't be easy for him to accept but he would have to if he wanted to try and stop Galbatorix.

"I know it's hard to believe," she started trying to tell him gently, he looked at her and shook his head.

"No it isn't hard to believe." Sareh was taken aback at his words.

"So… You trust what I say is true?" Brom nodded slowly and stood, Saphira lifted her head and followed him as he paced. He turned back and looked at Sareh.

"I knew when I met with the council to give my final report. They were arrogant, patting themselves on the back for putting Galbatorix in his place. I knew it wasn't true, that his hatred was too powerful for him to stay in seclusion." Sareh looked at her hands resting in her lap. She knew it was hard for a Rider to talk ill of his fellow Shur'tugals, he had grown up believing the Riders were the peace keepers of Alagaësía, and for many years they had been. However, Sareh had seen the future, and although she wanted nothing more than to prevent the course of time, she couldn't.

"Brom. We can still try, I may have missed something, someone who will listen in the council—" Brom shook his head.

"No." he said quietly, looking out across the cliff side. "We have to go straight to the other Riders. Tell them what we know, let them make their own decision." Sareh stood quickly and brushed off her skirt, making her way over to Brom.

"To decide what, exactly?" she asked when she reached him. He turned to face her, looking down on her face, lit golden by the setting sun. He pulled her to him, kissing her upturned face gently.

"If we aren't going to get support from the council, we need to go to those who aren't afraid to lose power. We'll have to convince them to help us stop him." Brom answered softly. Sareh gave him a sad smile and wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest.

"Then we'll do it together, somehow." Saphira rose and joined them, encircling them with her wings.

_"We will __**all**__ do this together."_

* * *

_** Several Years Later…**_

It was hard to believe that several years ago, Sareh had been a young woman working the land with her family. Today she crouched low in a shadowed hollow. Her dark hair, once free to be blown about by the wind, was pulled into a braid, her airy skirt was replaced with leather pants, a corseted shirt and well-worn boots. In her hands were deadly sharp daggers. Behind her were several of the rebels known as the Varden who were not Dragon Riders. Above her Brom and a few of his fellow riders circled, looking for the large search party Galbatorix had sent through The Spine, one of many groups now that he had overtaken key cities. She was quiet, her eyes scanning the terrain ahead of her, looking for some sign of those she and the others were waiting for. She gripped her daggers tightly until she heard Saphira's voice in her mind.

"_Sareh, they are very close now, attack when ready. Brom, I, and the others will await your signal to descend."_ Sareh gave her acknowledgement, just as she went to inform her men, Brom's voice also filtered into her mind. Years ago the two had had to depend entirely on Saphira to contact one another. Now, after much trial and error, Sareh had found her power did not work only with dragons but with anyone who had some form of telepathic power. With that information, Sareh and Brom had found a way to communicate without words, now was one of those times.

"_**Sareh."**_

"_Yes Brom?"_

"_**Be careful, I expect to see you after the smoke has cleared."**_

"_I wouldn't have it any other way."_

"_I love you Sareh."_ Sareh smiled, Brom wasn't normally one to share his emotions, but he had become much more open with his feelings now that he felt no one but her would hear of it. And Sareh wouldn't have it any other way.

"_I love you too, Brom."_

With her goodbyes done, she turned to face those directly behind her and began giving instructions.

"When they come into range, we'll surround what we can and allow the archers to fire on them, as for the rest, Brom and his Riders will attack from behind, trapping them." Every fighter within range of her quiet words nodded their understanding, while others passed the message on; a few seconds later they heard the search party crashing through the brush. Sareh shook her head; obviously they were not afraid of being heard. She motioned for the others to stay low and continued to watch their targets. When they entered the open area Sareh waited a few moments. When they had filtered through the trees, enough to surround, Sareh leapt from her hiding place and gave the command to attack.

The search party was taken by surprise as the Varden ambushed them, men and women alike surrounding the enemy, archers letting loose on them. Several of Galbatorix's men fell in front of Sareh before she was able to attack them herself. She looked back and gave a gesture of thanks to the archers behind her. The next few Urgals were not so lucky. As they crashed towards her, Sareh flicked her wrists, her daggers flying, each lodging in some respective vital part of each creature. They fell like trees, landing with loud thuds ahead of her. She felt the sensation of being followed and grabbed another dagger from her boot. She spun around, throwing the dagger as she crouched to avoid a head on attack. The dagger hit its mark, straight into the heart of an Urgal that had been lifting his sword to strike her. His face twisted into a look of shock and pain as he fell face forward.

As Sareh raised herself off the ground, quickly gathering her spent daggers as she called to the Riders, almost immediately hearing the thud of wings beating the air, the shadows of the dragon's covering the ground, blocking out the sun. She risked a look up and saw the familiar blue flash of Saphira's scales, and knew Brom and she were near. She headed for a pack of Urgals that were attempting to box several of the Varden not armed with bows, into a tight grove of trees. She caught three of them with her daggers, successfully distracting the other stupid creatures before they attacked. The cornered Varden took advantage of that time and took care of them while the Urgals' attention was diverted.

Sareh looked to reload her arsenal but was distracted as she moved to grab the daggers she had expended. A sudden prickle of fear crawled up Sareh's spine as she leaned over.

Durza.

Sareh spun around looking across the battlefield, her line of sight constantly blocked by Urgals fighting Varden, dragons grasping enemies in sharp talons and tossing them into nearby trees. Even through the chaos she saw the crimson hair that belied the Shade. Immediately she reacted and ran straight to the spot she had last seen him, though by the time she got there he was gone. She could hear his laughter in her mind, infuriating her. Finally Sareh decided not to depend on her sense of sight, but her ability. Closing her eyes, she searched for Durza with her mind, probing through the confusion surrounding her. Her thoughts passed over the warriors of the Varden, their minds full of tactics and thoughts of their families. The Urgals were easy to bypass, as their minds were empty, devoid of any string of thoughts that meant anything.

If Sareh had known that using her abilities would give Durza the advantage he needed to overcome her defenses, she never would have opened her mind as she had.

Because not only had Sareh learned the intricacies of her skills, so had Durza, through spying and dark magic Sareh had never heard of in her life. The minute she opened her thoughts to find him, was the minute Durza found the crack the wall of her mind blocking him out. That wall came crashing down, Sareh's mind immediately trapped in Durza's grasp.

From his perch on Saphira's back Brom felt a change in Sareh. She had frozen, her mind battling for something. Brom ordered Saphira to wheel around until they could see her. They hadn't even reached her position when Brom felt a searing pain in his shoulder. His experience with her told him that Sareh had been injured somehow, her abilities having united them in almost every capacity. He knew the pain he was feeling was hers. When he and Saphira reached her, Brom saw Sareh fall, a dagger sticking out of her chest.

"SAREH!" he bellowed from high above the melee. Sareh didn't hear him, the battle in her mind was being lost as she contended with the agonizing pain in her chest from Durza's poisoned dagger. She knew it was poisoned since the Shade had been kind enough to tell her so. She fell to the ground, the pain too much for her to handle while trying to protect herself from Durza's pressures on her mind.

On Saphira, Broom became frantic as he felt Sareh slipping away. Saphira tried to force her way down, the treetops in her way, but even dragons have their weak points and the wings were made of hollow bones that could be snapped if hit just right.

_"I can't get through the trees Brom, we have to find another way!"_ Brom had never felt the hysteria he did now. His heart was beating out of his chest as he tried to find a way to the woman he loved.

"Saphira, just get me close enough to jump!" he yelled over the tornado-like winds rushing passed his ears as Saphira's wings kept them afloat. Saphira twisted her head to look at Brom and voice her disapproval.

_"It's too far, you'll be hurt or killed."_ Brom lifted himself up until he was standing on Saphira's saddle, balancing himself precariously on her back.

"Saphira, I'm not leaving her and I know neither are you. Get me close enough to jump." Saphira did as he asked, allowing herself to fall enough to get him closer to the ground and keep from being stuck among the trees. Brom fell to the ground, losing his footing and landing on his side. He ignored the pain and got to his feet. He tried to get his bearings, to find Sareh and was met with an evil chuckle. He faced the sound and saw Durza, Sareh in his arms unconscious, blood seeping from her wound, black with poison.

"You're too late Shur'tugal. Your little woman is ours now."

"NO!" Brom roared and he barreled towards the Shade only to run into nothingness. The Shade was gone and with him Sareh.

Sareh had been taken, just as Galbatorix had predicted.

Brom fell to his knees in the spot Durza had stood, the last moment before Sareh was gone. For the first time in his life Brom couldn't control his emotions and in a matter of moments his face was covered in tears. Saphira had found a place to land with little danger to her wings and now she rushed to Brom's side, knocking smaller trees to untimely deaths in her haste to find him. She was met with a wave of anguish that nearly stopped her dead and soon her own heart felt that sting of losing Sareh.

It appeared Galbatorix had won.

But just for now. Brom wasn't going to allow Galbatorix his prize for long. Sareh was going to come home and safely if it was the last thing he did.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

** A/N: I've been really terrible about updating-- and I'm sorry :0( I'm hoping to kick myself into gear and get this story finished. In my mind's eye, I imagine two more chapters, three at the most. I'm having a little difficulty finding accurate timelines on the internet to help me figure out what events should take place right about now in my FF, and unfortunately I don't have my Inheritance books so I can't look it up there either. So please bear with me in attempting to make sense of when and where everything happens. If you see a mistake, I assure you it isn't because I'm trying to mess with Paolini's world, I probably just had bad information. Thanks for being patient!  
**

Sareh woke, groggy and aching. As she struggled to sit up a searing pain shot through her shoulder, causing her to gasp.

"I apologize for Durza's eagerness to harm you—it appears he doesn't have an appreciation for the finer things in life." A cold voice emanated from a dark corner. Despite the terrible throbbing in her shoulder, Sareh shot up from her vulnerable position and reached for a dagger only to find an empty sheath. In a matter of seconds she felt for the others she had hidden, only to see she was entirely weaponless. She looked up into the shadows and was met with an almost rabid stare from a face she had seen only once before.

"Galbatorix." She said coolly, a feral smile spreading across the man's lips. For such a frightening looking man, his countenance was cool, calculating. His eyes raked over her as he relished her fear in knowing it was he who held her captive. She was doing a remarkable job keeping her fear from her face, but it was there, he could _feel_ it.

"Yes my lady." She met his icy glare; he could feel the pressure of her mind against the walls of his own. However, due to Durza's black magic and intimate knowledge of her abilities, Galbatorix knew she would be unsuccessful.

"You know you're too weak my dear. You might as well save your strength." Sareh's eyes widened as he confirmed what she feared. The poison Durza had used on her was magically binding her powers. Until the poison left her body, they would be useless against him and for the Varden. Which had been her second plan, assessing her situation and then using her abilities to gather information for her fellow rebels. Galbatorix's grim smile widened at her predicament.

"It looks like my prediction came true." Sareh shook her head.

"You've only given me a minor set back Galbatorix. I will find a way out of this place and when I do, I will make sure the Varden have everything they need to defeat you." Galbatorix shook his head.

"As futile as this argument is for you, you must realize that if you ever _do_ get out of this fortress, you will not be as your precious Shur'tugal and Varden remember you." Sareh didn't back down, even though in her heart, she knew it was probably true. Somehow, despite her precautions to keep Durza away, he had still found a way to overpower her, she wasn't sure how yet, but it appeared she'd have time to speculate later. At the moment she was invaluable to Galbatorix and the Forsworn. In the event she got away, they would cripple her anyway they could.

"Galbatorix, you will pay for this, if not by me then by my people." Galbatorix gave a rude snort.

"We shall see—and in that time, you'll know what it's like to have your life destroyed." Before she could reply Galbatorix was gone, leaving her to her own limited devices. During this reprieve of sorts she looked around the room and realized that it was a bedchamber. The room was fairly lavish for a prisoner of war, it's walls done up in pretty silks and flashing gold. The bed she had apparently been laid on was covered in similar finery and stuffed with a comfortable looking down bedding.

"Strange tactic, torturing with comfort and finery." She muttered to herself as she looked around. In one corner, over the back of a chair was a beautiful blue dress, the color obviously meant to compliment her looks. She lifted it up and inspected it. Although it was gorgeous, if they expected her to wear it, they were sadly mistaken. She threw the garment back on the chair with little regard for the expensive silks being crumpled. Knowing the evil that lived here, it had probably been bought with blood money, if it had been paid for at all. Her gaze was drawn to a balcony just outside the window she was standing next to. The sky was dark and rain was beating on the roof, she could only see the terrain when the skies were assaulted by lightening.

She couldn't tell where she was, she just knew it wasn't a place the Varden could easily attempt a rescue. She was aware Brom wouldn't stop looking for her, which is what frightened her. As with _all_ of her premonitions to this point, this one had come true. Fate had it out for her and if that were true, it meant that all she loved would be in danger. Sareh pushed lightly on the door to the balcony, never expecting it to actually be open, and at the very least have some sort of magical lock on it. She was surprised to find that the door swung open easily.

Stepping out in the rain, Sareh looked all around her for some sort of trap, feeling blind without her powers to guide her. Even with the skills Brom had taught her to survive in this sort of situation, Sareh doubted she would make it through. Nothing rushed from the shadows to grab her and at that point she hadn't seen or heard anything stopping her from leaving. As lightening slashed across the angry sky Sareh slid one leg over the balcony wall, looking for something to happen. She slid the other leg over, her odds to an inexperienced eye would have looked very good, but Sareh knew better than to get her hopes up. Galbatorix might have gone mad, but he wasn't stupid. He was also quite cruel. If he had intentionally let her think she could get away or if he found out she was gone. She was assured a very painful punishment.

Sliding over the edge Sareh's feet searched for purchase. As she did a searing pain shot through her entire body. It felt like fire rushing over skin, into every pore, her mind burned. The shock of this sudden attack nearly caused Sareh to lose her grip on the balcony. Her grip tightened at the last moment on the slick edge of the balcony. Using what little strength she had, Sareh pulled herself over the railing once more and landed with a crack against the stone.

She let her head drop, her eyes heavenward, chest heaving as she gasped for air. As the lightening and thunder lit up the evening, Sareh realized why Galbatorix hadn't shown great care in locking her away. It appeared that not only had Durza poisoned her with black magic, he had also temporarily infected her with one of his captured spirits. Although this particular one was not taking over her mind, it appeared that it had been given leave to attack her if she tried to escape. Having little experience with spirit-wielding, Sareh knew she stood no chance of removing it in her weakened state. Once again Durza proved himself a dangerous adversary.

As the rain thoroughly soaked her to the skin she tried, in vain, to reach out to Brom, to tell him it was useless to try and find her. She couldn't do it though, her mind still overcome. As the rain fell from the heavens, sliding down her skin, she whispered to herself.

"Oh Brom… Don't come, don't come."

* * *

Brom paced camp like a lion ready to strike. He could barely contain the rage and worry that was seeping from every molecule of his body. Saphira was standing nearby, talons embedded in the ground, her own emotion overflowing, making their combined rage palpable to the small group of Varden leaders sitting before them. 

"Brom, it's a trap, we can't risk it—Galbatorix knows what Sareh is to you, he'll use it to his advantage." One of the men said urgently. Brom's hands clenched at his sides, he knew this was true and he knew that Sareh would never risk the lives of the Varden. They were the last hope against Galbatorix, and no matter what happened to her, Brom knew Sareh would tell him to go on without her.

That's what made him angry.

He gave a defeated sigh and looked at the group.

"I know. We'll have to proceed with—without her." He couldn't say the words without choking. Leaving Sareh to suffer whatever wrath Galbatorix had in store for her was not something that boded well Brom. If anything, Brom wanted Saphira to help him find her so he could tear Galbatorix apart with his own hands. It was hard for him to believe that long ago, Brom had once called Galbatorix friend. Now the only thing Brom could call him was monster, and even more so now that he had taken Sareh. With his own admittance that they could not go after her, the men stood and filed out to their tents silently. They were aware that Sareh was not just a great loss to Brom, but to them all. Her powers had done a great deal to help them to this point, many of them had wanted to go after her anyway, stating that they left no one behind to be tortured by Galbatorix and his Forsworn.

When they finally left, Brom dropped down upon a newly vacated log. He held his head in his hands, his rage dissipating into total anguish.

"How could I have let this happen?" he murmured to himself, his head heavy in his hands. Saphira, who had been sitting silently the entire time, leaned her snout down until it was inches from Brom's shaking form.

_"Brom, we had a mission to complete—Sareh will never blame you for this."_ Brom's head jerked up his eyes on fire.

"I should have kept her with me, or stayed with her on the ground, I shouldn't have been safe upon your back." Saphira shook her head, her great eyes meeting his.

_"And left the other Varden to suffer Galbatorix's army alone? Sareh would be ashamed to hear it. She knew when the Varden were created that she would fight and possibly die for what she believed in. She was more than willing."_ Brom leapt to his feet, his hands ripping through his hair.

"I can't just sit here knowing Galbatorix has her, Saphira. It may be selfish of me, but I've made enough sacrifices, I want her back and I want her back **now**." Saphira wagged her head in disagreement.

_"Brom, I don't want any harm to come to Sareh either. I love her as much as you do, but we cannot be rash about this. We must bide our time, we know Galbatorix will not kill her until she has served his purpose. We also know Sareh will never do it unless forced, she will fight him."_

"But, what if he finds it isn't worth it? Durza is powerful, he was able to stop Sareh immediately, with no effort—it was as if her years of training meant nothing." Brom said as his panic rose at an alarming level. The more he thought about it, the more afraid he became for Sareh. Shur'tugals were notorious for being unemotional and in the past Brom had been known for this as well, but Sareh had changed him. He cared for her so deeply, that losing her was not an option.

_"Durza may know how to block her abilities, but I cannot shake the feeling that he does not know how to use them. He needs Sareh for that and therefore Galbatorix will assure she stays alive."_ Saphira answered, her tail swishing as a cat's would when angry. Brom looked at her skeptically.

"How can you be so sure? Durza is as unpredictable as Galbatorix, if not more so."

_"Sareh could feel it when Durza switched their bodies, she felt Durza was unprepared to handle her powers and Galbatorix admitted it during the whole ordeal."_ The dragon answered.

"But that was years ago Saphira, he could have learned by then!" Brom retorted, he had learned to never underestimate a Shade, particularly Durza. Any man who willingly put themselves at risk of being overtaken by spirits was dangerous, and now _this_ one had a master with a vendetta.

_"Brom, there is nothing I can say that will calm you, but I know Sareh is as safe as she can be at the moment."_ At her words Brom looked at Saphira in surprise. He had been desperately reaching out to Sareh for hours, only to find nothing. Was it possible that Saphira could still sense Sareh?

"Can you contact her?" Saphira shook her head no, vehemently.

_"No Brom, but I can sense her, it's almost muffled like someone's thrown a blanket over a bright lantern—You still may see some of the glow, but the rest of it is blocked. That's how I feel, she is there but I cannot feel more than that."_ Brom kicked at a stone, some of his anger returning. He wasn't the type of man to sit around a wait while someone he cared about was in danger. Now that it was Sareh, he _most certainly_ couldn't stand it. Finally, after a moment of cooling down he looked at Saphira.

"I'm going for her Saphira—I believe Galbatorix is predictable enough to take over the Urû'baen. If she's there, I will find her, he will not use her for his own purposes…" he stopped for a moment and regarded his dragon sadly, "I'll need your help though." Saphira gave a fang-filled smile.

_"I would have it no other way Brom—I think you'll also find that the time will be right for the Varden to attack. You will have many at your side."_ Brom looked off into this distance, wishing he could change history.

"I hope you're right Saphira. Our lives depend on it."


End file.
